The Forgotten Five
by Bovine Beauty
Summary: When five underrated movie characters feel left out and unwanted in their own home, their hearts become corrupted by the dark powers of the Disney villains to not only destroy the one responsible for their misery, but to overthrow all the heroes.
1. Dark Times

_All characters, except maybe the real life people, are the property of the Walt Disney Company and Pixar. I don't own any one of them._

**Chapter 1: Dark Times**

Dark Times had fallen on the Walt Disney Company. It all seemed to happen months after the success of Fantasia 2000. Around that time, highly successful CGI films from different movie studios like Pixar bought in bigger numbers than the hand-drawn animated feature films. Massive layouts brought staff members down to six hundred. Many would have assumed the cause of their failure would be because they still used traditional animation in an era were audiences soon turned to CGI films. Once Disney started converting their Walt Disney Feature Animation into a CGI department, more layoffs were performed and their traditional animation equipment was sold off. Soon the Paris studio was shut down in 2003 as the Orlando Studio followed in 2004, turning into an attraction.

It wasn't always like this. There was a time when back in the early 90s, successful films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Tarzan gave the warm sensation and magical renaissance generation that Walt used to share ever since his first animated feature that started the line of Disney Animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

But soon after the success of Fantasia 2000, movies such as The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range became box-office failures with the exception of Lilo and Stitch, resulting in the end of traditional animation. Early in development, The Emperor's New Groove was once titled Kingdom of the Sun, but soon had its name changed to a buddy movie comedy. The same could be said for Home on the Range once in production titled Sweating Bullets. Atlantis and Treasure Planet garnered mixed reviews from critics. And Brother Bear was mixed with some reviews panning it as a retread to older Disney films like The Lion King and was never the box-office hit as Aladdin and The Lion King were.

On November 30th, 2003 before 2004, Roy E. Disney, Walt's nephew announced his resignation on the board citing "serious differences of opinion about the direction and style of management" in the company. Soon after his resignation, Roy created a website as an attempt to gather enough shareholders and fans to oust Chairman Michael Eisner and his supporters out for good. And by March 3, 2004, Roy Disney and Stanley Gold voted to oppose the re-election of Michael Eisner to the corporate board of directors. He was not immediately removed as expected, but the battle to save Disney was far from over.

* * *

_At the House of Mouse_

"And now the most spectacular mouse who started it all, Mickey Mouse!"

Mickey slides onstage to welcome the audience.

"Hi there folks. Tonight we'll dig out a few old cartoons, and then we'll be giving a toast to the toons in honor of last year who worked hard on keeping our company alive. I know we've had a rough year with all the stock market crashes, park accidents, and rather unusual flops, but failures won't keep this company down, right?"

The audience cheered and shouted NO as a response.

"And I know it's been especially tough for some of you, but as long as we stick together, and continue to put our heart and soul into our work, then we're doin' exactly what our old pal Walt had always taught us. And as long as we're upholding that, that's the real magic of Disney." The audience cheered loudly. "Now, let's give it up for the Splashing Pumpkins."

The audience cheered for Mickey's speech before he left back stage to check on things while Hewy, Dewy, and Louie started playing.

"So Minnie is every single character here tonight."

Minnie looked at her clipboard and sighed. "Everyone, except…"

Curious, Mickey took a peek to see what was wrong and slapped his forehead. "Aw no; that's the seventh time this has happened. How am I supposed to honor and thank those guys if they're not here?"

Minnie could only shake her head. "Oh Mickey, ever since their movies flopped, they've been refusing to participate in every special event, birthday party, and holiday celebration. I can't blame them. After all, most people out there think they're bad characters just because they're different and not like the Pixar characters. Kuzco has barely left his palace. Milo Thatch can't concentrate on his work. Jim doesn't go solar surfing anymore. Kenai and Koda went into a long hibernation. And just the other day, I accidentally overheard one of the cows whisper an insult about Mr. Incredible during a walk in the park."

"What was it?"

"You don't wanna know. But I can almost see they think they're not wanted here at all; especially when it seems this house is full of other successful characters."

"Is that what they told you?"

"Yes."

Mickey once again looked at the clipboard where the missing guests had their names unchecked. It didn't feel right to leave them out, especially when he himself promised a toast to all who have worked hard to keep the company going. And that included the five so-called outcasts. Even failures in this company found their place amongst here. He couldn't let this go on any longer. Something had to be done. And it needed to be done right away. He handed the clipboard back to Minnie.

"Minnie, you, Donald, and Goofy will have to fill in for me tonight. I have a job to do out there. But I'll be right back."

Minnie had no time to ask her husband any questions as he already zoomed out the door and into Toon Town. But she already figured that it had something to do with the five movie titles' absence at this house. She could only hope they would listen to Mickey if they ever wanted to find their place here. Reluctantly she rushed onstage to continue what was not yet done on the schedule.

**AN**: _This is my first fanfic based on the Disney Universe. Please note this is not going to be written for finger pointing or accusations against any other studio. So don't take it too personally if any of the characters start thinking negative about any of the Pixar characters or anybody else. I never want to offend anyone. This is only being made for fun as other Disney Universe stories. And it is from the underrated character's point of view. I'm a little nervous myself when I'm writing this story, because it is my first Disney Universe story based on the events around Michael Eisner before he stepped down as Chairman. Any flames or rude comments in reviews will be deleted. Had to make a few changes to this story. Hope some of you don't mind. And I almost to forgot to mention that I would like to give credit to yensid365 for helping me with some hints and tips on how this story should go. Thank you._


	2. Visiting Emperor Kuzco

**Chapter 2: Visiting Emperor Kuzco**

Once Mickey drove blocks away from the House of Mouse, he had purchased a ticket in order to take a ship that would sail all the way to South America. He would first pay a visit to Emperor Kuzco and talk some sense into him to find out if his absence had anything to do with the start of the Save Disney War. It was a long way to South America, but he had to see the missing characters, even it took him a whole year to set things right with them. Sure their movies might not have been popular with most critics, executives, or the public, but to Mickey and friends, none of that mattered. Like the Blue Fairy and Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, Mickey saw into the heart of the five, just as he does with everyone in his family. He had seen the goodness they had done in their movies out of bravery and unselfishness that not many people did.

"ALL ABOARD!" The sea caption shouted as a final warning to all other passengers who were still boarding.

Minutes later the ship was under way at last.

* * *

_Hours later_

It was indeed a long voyage to South America, but it finally managed to reach the docks of the marketplace under Kuzco's palace.

"Oops s'cuse me, pardon me, comin' through here," Mickey said, trying to push his way through the busy crowds.

When he was able to walk all the way up the palace steps, two guards painted in red and blue stood in his path at the gates. For some odd reason, they wouldn't let him through.

"Sorry sir, you can't come in," said the right guard. "The emperor gave the strictest orders not to be disturbed."

"He's been having some kind of depression syndrome lately," the left guard whispered to Mickey's ear. His shoulder was then punched by the other guard. "Ouch!"

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone," he whispered through gritted teeth.

"But I must see him," Mickey insisted. "It's been too long since he stopped showing up at parties and stuff. And it's time for me to take action to about this. Now are you going to let me through, or are you just going to deny the wishes of Mickey Mouse who's only here to help the emperor?"

The guards looked at each other for a moment and turned their backs to Mickey to whisper in hushed tones that lasted for ten seconds. Mickey could not make out what they were saying, but he guessed it had something to do with him. Then they turned their attention back to Mickey and opened the gates to allow him to pass.

"On second thought, go right on in. It's just straight ahead."

"Gee, thanks fellas," Mickey said as he entered the palace. From inside the palace, everything looked the same as he saw in the movie. Nothing else seemed to be missing, except he did notice the lack of singing and dancing that used to go on in every hallway. Now it was all nothing but empty silence. "Huh, don't tell me Kuzco stopped dancing and grooving. I don't hear any music at all. And it would be nice if something were playing to brighten the day."

This situation seemed more serious than Mickey thought, even if he had just arrived here to see that the cheeriness that once surrounded this palace had now disappeared.

* * *

From inside the throne room, a discouraged and sullen Kuzco sat slumped on his throne chair with a bowl of purple grapes nestled on his stomach as he stuffed his mouth with a bunch. He was beyond discouraged. He was depressed. All this time, he had never even known that the shareholders at the Disney board had suddenly lost faith after his film had flopped at the box-office. It wasn't until the start of the Save Disney War when he learned about it in a newspaper article, several weeks ago. But when Kuzco heard a few Pixar executives mention that his film and all the other flops could never compare to their movies, it gave him and the other four movie characters the idea that even the Pixar guys don't accept them. Why couldn't they? As Kuzco prepared to stuff another bunch of grapes in his mouth, a knock on the door interrupted.

"I'M NOT HOME!" Kuzco shouted, annoyed that someone would dare bother him when he specifically gave orders not to be disturbed. The knocking repeated itself again. "GO AWAY; CAN'T YOU SEE I'M EATING!" Kuzco was becoming more annoyed. When the knock came a third time, the emperor stood up from his chair, threw the grapes aside and marched toward the gates hoping to give this pesky intruder a piece of his mind. Opening the gates aside, he threw his fist in the air. "I SAID GO…" he stopped to realize that no one was standing in front of him, until he peered down to find that Mickey Mouse was standing below, taken aback by his shouting. "Oh, oh Mickey it's only you. I thought you were…sorry. I wasn't expecting you to show." Kuzco now felt ashamed.

"It's alright Kuzco," said Mickey calmly. "I know you don't wanna be bothered, but I really need to speak with you. I hope you didn't mind me using a little persuasion on the guards to let me pass."

"I'll let it go," Kuzco stated in a sad tone. "I suppose if we're gonna talk, why don't we go over to the dinner table and discuss it?"

"Fine by me."

Mickey agreed as Kuzco escorted him into the dining room for some lunch. Even if the emperor did not want to see anyone, part of him felt glad to see Mickey instead of more bad news from delivery men on the streets. With Kronk as the chef, he served a tray of his special made spinach puffs, salads, cooked salmon, and a dessert of lemon pie. Staring at the food, Mickey wasn't really hungry, but he didn't want to disappoint Kronk who seemed desperate to impress him. So he tried a few bites.

"Will that be all Mr. Mouse?" Kronk asked.

"For now Kronk," Mickey answered.

After Kronk left the dining room, Mickey looked over at Kuzco who apparently had not spoken a word all through lunch. Due to his depression syndrome, he nearly lost his appetite. And he wanted to wait until Mickey was finished, or else he might not have understood him talking with his mouth full.

"Um, as I was saying," Mickey began, pushing his unfinished plate aside. "Me and my friends are really concerned about your lack of attending parties, festivities, and celebrations. And ever since Roy E. Disney has been trying to fix things, you haven't shown up at the House of Mouse since. We would really like to have you back sometime."

"Is that what this is all about?" Kuzco stared at Mickey as if he had bees swarming around him. "I was almost hoping it would be good news, like the chairman finally being stripped of his position so he'll never use toons as his puppets again." He sounded upset.

"Look, Roy is doing everything he can to settle things with Michael," Mickey replied. "But I'm not here to give you bad news. I'm only here to help you. Why, because you're apart of the family, like everyone else. And unless you tell me what else is bothering you, I won't know how to help. So please don't leave me in the dark about these things. And if it makes you feel any better, I solemnly swear not to tell anyone else about this after I leave this palace."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart," Mickey answered, crossing his heart.

Those words caved in to Kuzco as he sighed sadly, clearing his throat. "Well…it's just that…how should I put this?" He scratched his head for a second. "It's just that…ever since the start of that war to save our company from a falling landslide, sometimes I think…maybe I never deserved those good reviews to begin with. There I said it. I mean if I'm such a failure to those executives, then I've already lost the rhythm to groove down the hallways like I used to. I mean it's not that I don't love grooving anymore, I still do." Kuzco sighed once more, and maintained in a softer tone. "But I just don't see any point in doing it."

Mickey stared at Kuzco pitifully when his question to the silent hallways had been answered.

"I see. But why haven't you tried talking to your friends about this? I'm sure they would have helped you."

"It's no good," Kuzco replied shamefully. "They're as downhearted about this whole thing as I am." He threw his hands down on the table. "Call me crazy if you want, but sometimes I wish I could march up to that office over there and give that good-for-nothing boss a piece of my mind. It seems no matter how good you are with making others laugh or smile, there is no pleasing someone like him." He crossed his arms over his chest hesitantly. "You pour your whole heart into everything you work for, and for what?"

Mickey saw that Kuzco's face turned to a sad frown. But he refused to shed tears, feeling it was too embarrassing for him, even in front of Mickey. Whenever someone in his family ached on the inside, it made his own heart ache as well. So he hopped off his chair to walk over to Kuzco.

"Aw, Kuzco, don't let those guys getcha down. You saw how many people liked your movie and started laughing."

"Yeah but it went out of the theaters…" Kuzco snapped his fingers. "…just like that! I don't wanna be left outta show business!!" Just then Kuzco could not hold it in any longer as he started crying hysterically.

Mickey ponders for a moment, and then snaps his fingers. "Say I got an idea. Why don't I see if I can straighten things out for you?"

Kuzco rubs his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe I can talk to the producers and see if we can put you and all the other toons back in the spotlight. You're not the only one who's been feeling left out lately, and I can't say I blame them."

But Kuzco was unsure of this. "I don't know Mickey. I tried talking to the main man myself last time, and I didn't even get to see him."

"Well I am Mickey Mouse, but don't worry Kuzco. You're still the King of the World in my book." That made Kuzco smile. "Oh and if you're feeling up to it…" Mickey takes out an envelope and hands it over to Kuzco. "I think you'll really wanna see what's in store there. Until then, I gotta go. But I hope you'll make up your mind by then."

"Thanks Mickey!" Kuzco called out the moment before Mickey was out of the dining room and waved back to him.

Soon Kuzco was all alone in the dining room. He opened the envelope to read the invitation.

_Dear Guests, you and your friends are cordially invited to attend a special dinner party at the House of Mouse next Friday on May 20__th__, 7pm. Please come. We will be celebrating some honored guests for their dedication to Disney. Love, Mickey Mouse._

Reading the letters on the invitation over and over, he felt something inside his heart that he hadn't felt for so many long months since the company fell in dark times. He was suddenly feeling delight. It just occurred to him all of a sudden, after Mickey's arrival. Eisner may not have liked his movie, but that didn't mean Mickey never cared about him and his friends. Mickey Mouse, the most beloved cartoon icon had come here not only to give him an invitation, but to remind him that everyone, including Kuzco, was important, no matter who you are.

"OH YEAH, BOOM BABY YEAH!"

Kuzco jumped from his seat and started grooving in excitement. He felt so excited that he wasn't even the least bit surprised by Kronk's sudden appearance.

"What happened, what'd I miss?"

Kuzco held up the invitation sign in front of Kronk's face to answer his question.

"Kronk my good man," he said happily. "Get ready next Friday cause we're going to the House of Mouse. YEAH BABY YEAH!!"

The emperor dashed out of the room to get his guards to turn on the music. And everyone seemed surprised and glad at the same time to see Kuzco acting like his old self again.

There was however, one familiar feline that had been hiding in the shadows of the palace the whole time. And she was the only one that had taken pleasure in seeing Kuzco in agony. But now that he was back on his feet, she pulled on her fur, gnashed her teeth, and clawed at the pillars. Yet no one paid any attention to this. They were all too busy dancing and grooving.

All the way from the docks, Mickey could have sworn he heard music playing all the way from Kuzco's palace. He turned his head and smiled.

"Well it looks like my work is done here for now."

His first mission was complete. But there were four more to go. Hopping back on the ship, Mickey now turned his mind on his next mission; to go see Milo Thatch.

**AN**: _I would like to give credit to yensid365 for helping me out with Mickey's words. Thanks to you. Did I capture Kuzco's personality alright? This is the first time I've included him in a Disney fanfic, so the story is still a bit challenging. But I won't let anything stop me from writing and trying. Once again, this story is not being made for fingerpointing or anything at anyone. I'm only writing at least what I've learned while I was once still a member of Save Disney. Once again, had to make a few small corrections here._


	3. A Villianous Plot

**Chapter 3: A Villainous Plot**

To see Milo, Mickey had to travel underwater by submarine, especially since Atlantis was nearly hidden at the bottom of the sea. Upon his arrival, everyone had been down in their spirits the same as Mickey saw with Kuzco, but they were glad of Mickey's presence when he had mentioned what he really saw in them. Handing out the invitation, their spirits were lifted, especially Milo and Kida. By visiting the last three "outcasts", he had managed to lift their spirits (well almost all of them) by mentioning the same thing. He told them that the movie reviews didn't matter, that he and his pals were doing everything they could to settle things with Michael, and that they're still important to the Disney family. And no matter what happened on the day of their movie release, Mickey would never turn any of them away. Of course the cows hadn't been that easy to persuade, especially with the fact that they refused and rejected the invitation, wondering where Mickey and his pals were this whole time when Eisner used them for his own selfish purposes which lead to the downfall of Disney Animation and had people foolishly accusing the characters themselves for destroying the industry. But Mickey was not the type to give up that easily when he went on to explain what he truly saw in them that those movie critics didn't. Nothing would change his mind about looking out for those he cares about. And he even tried to convince the girls that we are all different on the outside, but it's the heart that counts. It didn't go well one bit and he was told to leave. Mickey sadly left the farm after leaving the invitation on the doorstep for Pearl to see when she got home. Knowing that this wasn't the first time that any Disney characters got mad at him, he knew it would be wrong to force them to come and hoped that the girls would come around soon enough. No matter what they said to him, Mickey still cared for them since they were his family after all. The girls turned around and watched as Mickey was now a couple of feet away from the barn. Maybe they shouldn't have rejected his offer like that when he was only trying to be nice. Still, how was going to a party ever going to change things?

Meanwhile as Mickey was still visiting the other four, a villainous scheme laid within the lair of Maleficent's dark castle. From inside, she and the other Disney villains were gathered for a secret meeting. All the most evil and sinister villains Jafar, Scar, Frollo, Hades, Shan Yu, Ursula, Cruella, Oogie Boogie, the Horned King, Captain Hook, Wicked Queen, the Coach Man, and all the rest had arrived to hear why Maleficent had summoned them here. As with every story, every hero has a villain.

"Why have you summoned us here Maleficent?" Jafar asked impatiently, staff in hand. "I hope you have a good reason to drag us all the way over here."

"Yeah, c'mon hurry up. I got dead people to look after over here," Hades added.

"SILENCE YOU FOOLS OR THE UNDERWORLD MAY HAVE ANOTHER HELPING, HADES!" Maleficent shouted for their attention.

"Whoa chill out there, sheesh," Hades rolled his eyes.

Hades and Jafar remained unmoved. "Now, it seems that a significant number of our nemeses are lacking confidence in themselves because they fail to live up to the expectations of a true 'Disney Hero'. And I believe that we can take that to our advantage to finally be rid of Mickey and his pathetic little family forever."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up there toots. Who are we talking about exactly?" Hades questioned.

"I'm speaking for the significant group that has failed Mickey in living up to the expectations of a true hero, while being all the more foolish not to join us."

"Why waste our time with the little people?" Ursula stepped up using her tentacles as legs. "At this rate, we could already be fighting off Mickey right now."

"Patience my good woman, patience," Jafar intervened. "As long as that mouse's forces are still at his side, he'd outnumber us in less than a minute."

"Exactly the point," Maleficent added. "In order to reach the big top, sometimes you have to start from the bottom of the bunch. Now listen carefully…" she smiled eerily as everyone gathered for a close hearing.

* * *

_Late night_

Later back at the House of Mouse, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Horace Horse collar, and Clarabelle Cow were cleaning up the house with the help of the magic brooms. The Disney toons were getting everything cleaned up and ready for the next Friday when House of Mouse opens up. And at that moment, Mickey entered inside.

"Mickey, you're back" Minnie rushed over to hug Mickey. "We didn't expect you back so soon. How did everything go?"

"Don't worry Minnie," Mickey tried to smile for her. "I settled the matter. So now we wait and see."

* * *

_Meanwhile on Patch of Heaven_

As the dead of night had already fallen on Chugwater, everyone who had fallen asleep never noticed or heard an eerie trail of black mist silently roll through town, heading for the town jail. In a matter of minutes, out came a fat cowpoke, three gawky nephews, and a tall dark man with a serious expression. The shadowy mist led the outlaws to the trail leading to the Patch of Heaven farm. From there, they stopped at the front entrance.

"You know what to do?"

"Don't I ever," whispered the fat one, rubbing his gloved hands with delight.

With a wicked grin on his face, he got down on all fours and snuck quietly over to the small shelter where the three cows slept heavily. Because the doors were locked and secured, he could only peek in through a small hole where he first viewed Grace lying on a pile of hay as she slept.

"Yuck, look at that heifer smiling," Slim snorted. "It disgusts me. Well she and her friends won't be smiling for long. Now how do I open this darn thing?"

Slim opened a small black vial contained with some kind of dark magic in which smokes of green, purple, and black flew out of the opening. Placing the item closer to the hole, with a puff of his breath, Slim blew the smoke inside and chuckled with delight as he watched the wicked cloud slither around the sleeping blond heifer. It waited until Grace opened her mouth to yawn in order to enter through there and inside her ears. It took at least a full five seconds for an unpleasant, nervous frown to form on her face as she moaned. It was now Slim's chance to act.

"Did you obviously believe that anyone could ever love a ridiculous heifer like you?" Slim whispered through the small hole. "Look at yourself, you're a cow. Who in the right mind would want a bunch o' stupid cows as heroes? You couldn't even please the audience as well as the mouse. You've let him down with your weakness and stupidity. Face the facts; nobody loves you any more than they love the real heroes."

Grace shook her head violently as she moaned, sweat seeping down her forehead. She would not believe what she heard in her dreams.

"This whole downfall happened because o' you. That's right; this whole mess is your fault to begin with. It's all your fault."

Those hurtful words in her dream caused Grace to toss and turn as if her stomach were on fire. When Slim was done dressing down Grace minutes later, he moved over to do the same to Maggie and Mrs. Calloway.

**AN**: _Sorry for the long update. Had a few complications with the third chapter. And I couldn't go with seperate chapters on Mickey visiting the last four because he would only say the same thing with Kuzco. So had to move the story forward a bit. I'd like to thank yensid365 for heling me out on hints and tips for how the characters should talk and stuff. And don't worry, I will start revealing the other characters from Atlantis, Treasure Planet, and Brother Bear real soon and have them talk. I don't know when though, but soon enough. Once again, sorry for the long update. I hope I'm still doing an alright job with the characters' personalities. And I didn't want to make the story too predictable by revealing too much information. I wanted to make some small changes here because I felt the last few sentences of the paragraph were not convincing enough._


	4. Fear and Doubt

**Chapter 4: Fear and Doubt**

Deep within her lair, Maleficent had viewed the five forgotten heroes having nightmares after having the spell of fear and doubt seeped into them. The villains standing before her, Yzma, Captain Lyle Tiberius Rourke, Scroop and the space pirates, and Alameda Slim with Rico as the Willies cowered behind him in fear. They all watched with amazement and pleasure as their nemeses grew more paralyzed before either waking up crying hysterically or falling off their beds.

"So that's what happened to poor Cabin Boy after the spell," Scroop smirked at how Jim rushed out of his room in a panic. "Still wish I could've been there to see the whole thing."

"Whenever I see Kuzco in agony, I feel as light as a feather," Yzma stated. "I was happy until that mouse intervened. But this is much better."

"Interesting," mumbled Rourke, crossing his arms. "I never would have believed that a nightmare would cause this much emotional stress; even to a bumbling fool like Milo."

Before Alameda Slim could say anything, Maleficent tapped her staff to bring their attention to her.

"Listen well," she demanded. "You've all been brought to my lair for one purpose: to help us be rid of Mickey and his family forever. But first, we start off by breaking the spirits of the lesser known heroes. And when all goes well, they may help us without even realizing it."

"Pardon me for asking miss," Yzma cleared her throat. "But what exactly happens next?"

"Good question there. So far the fools are in great doubt of feeling unwanted by anyone. But just wait till they fall asleep again. That's when the real fun begins."

"The real fun?" Slim was puzzled.

"You'll see what I mean," Maleficent cackled, peering into her staff to view the image of Milo being comforted by Kida.

"But why need our help?" Rourke took one step forward. "I may be known as an explorer with a greedy reputation that nearly cost the loss of a civilization, but I don't have any powers."

"And my last attempt to overthrow the emperor had me turned into a kitten," moaned Yzma.

"And all I'm known for is controllin' cattle with my yodelin', but nothin' else matters," Slim snorted, crossing his arms with a sour expression.

"Yes, yes, I am very well aware of all your flaws and defeats from those would-be-heroes," Maleficent snarled. "But powerful or not, we may need your help in bringing down our enemies."

"What's in it for us?" Scroop sneered.

"Think about it. By joining in our group, all of you might be able to make something better of yourselves like you always dreamed of. If all goes well, perhaps you may be honored as one of the most powerful forces of evil this world, and the next, has yet to know. Are you all with me?"

The villains were in silence for a few seconds to think it over until they stepped up to Maleficent and accepted. If they joined in, then maybe this evil plot could be the next step in defeating their enemies once and for all.

* * *

_Down in Atlantis_

"Please Milo, you have got to eat something and try to forget about the dream," Kida said gently as she sat on the bed next to Milo while holding a plate of food. "I know it has been a hard time for all of us, but we can not let anything negative get a hold of us. You remember what Mickey just mentioned? He's says that he and his friends are doing all they can to fix things."

A confused and downhearted Milo sat on the edge of the bed in silence, face in his hands. He wanted to believe what Kida told him. But somehow or other, the harsh words from his dream haunted him ever since he woke up this morning. Even if he had risked his life to save Kida and Atlantis from a terrible fate, was it possible that he and his friends really let Mickey down with their failure that brought on this struggle to save the Disney Company? No, Mickey never mentioned any of that because he says it doesn't matter if his movie is a huge hit or not. He cares about his family just the same. Sure Milo was now glad of that, but now he wasn't so sure about what everyone else thought of him.

Milo sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "I know dreams aren't real," he muttered. "But it all seemed more than just a bad dream. It's as if the voice was actually saying that the whole world was against us…all because of our failure."

Kida sighed. She had to admit that even she wasn't all that happy with being forgotten and left out. To be ridiculed and poked fun at for your faults was enough to make you feel unwanted and useless. Why couldn't anyone out there focus more on their pros and less on their cons? It was simply fickle.

"I do not know what people expect from us," Kida admitted. "After all, we are just a lost civilization forgotten by time. So it is hard to understand everything that has happened." She handed him a pear. "Please try to eat. You need your strength today."

"Thanks Kida," Milo accepted the pear and took small bites from it. He hadn't felt much like eating today, but at least Kida was only trying to help, even if she didn't hold all the answers to the questions swimming in his mind about the dream. Comforting him was the best she could do for now.

* * *

_Planet Montressor_

Up on the thatch roof at the Benbow Inn, Jim Hawkins sat alone staring at the starry sky with gathering storm clouds passing by. By the rumbling of thunder in the distance, droplets of rain started to fall onto the roof, but the rain mattered little to Jim. There were far worst things in this universe than getting soaked unexpectedly. He couldn't believe what happened this morning. Before the nightmare, he was feeling as light as air from Mickey's visit. And now he was as miserable and discouraged than ever. He even felt humiliated from waking up, yelling as he raced to the restroom. The ruckus was enough to wake Sara and Doppler. Not only that, but it caused a bit of disturbance among the folks sleeping in the other rooms. Some complained while others were concerned. It had taken a few minutes for his mother and for Doppler to calm him down and carry him back to his room to give him more time to rest. When Jim was finally calm, he tried to remember every detail as he explained. All Sara could do was assuring him that whatever else happened in that dream was nothing more than an illusion.

"There you are, I'd thought you be up here lad."

Jim turned to his left to find Silver climbing up on the roof and sat next to him. Even when Jim felt Silver's metallic arm on his shoulder, it made him feel less lonely.

"Care to tell me what's troublin' you lad."

Jim sighed sadly before he began. "Well…it's just…how should I put this?" Trying to hold back tears inside, Jim went on. "It's just…sometimes I can't help but feel partly responsible for what's happening to the company down there." His chest now felt tight. "I just never realized it until this whole war started. I mean everyone is acting like we messed things up on purpose for them…or something like that. I'm so confused." That's when he felt a lump in his throat. "No matter how hard I worked, I'm just not good enough to be honored or thanked for trying my best." He paused for a moment before going on. "Then after that, you hear fans spread false rumors about you after the failure of a movie...our movie." Now Jim was trying his hardest to keep from crying as his shoulders shivered. "I just can't believe it."

"Never ya mind what them other fools think lad. And don't let some bad dream make you feel responsible for someone else's folly. I know yah better than they do. Yer anything, but yah ain't a loser Jim."

Jim looked at him with tearful eyes.

"None of us were aware of what was comin'. And no matter how bad things get, they won't stay that way forever."

For a while, Silver stayed on the roof to listen as Jim expressed his feelings of what it felt like when people pointed the finger at you for someone else's fault at messing things. He himself still didn't really know what to believe. What if he really was a nothing? Despite Silver's efforts to help him, Jim could already feel his self-confidence slipping away as he thought more about the bad dream of the horrible things said about his faults.

"Jim, why don't you come in now," Sara Hawkins called out from the window below. "You don't want to catch cold by staying out there in the rain."

"Coming Mom," Jim called back.

Now that the discussion on the roof was over, Jim and Silver decided to climb down and join the others to help in the kitchen and save the rest of the discussion for later.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Canadian wilderness_

"Kenai, you don't think we had anything to do with this whole mess happening do you?" Koda asked Kenai as they were walking into a cave to sleep for the night. He had been referring to the whole Save Disney campaign.

"Of course not Koda," Kenai shook his head, although he wasn't quite sure what to make of the horrible dream they both had. "I don't think it's anything to worry about. But let's try not to think of it anymore tonight, alright. Besides, I doubt anything bad will happen as we sleep."

Kenai allowed Koda to sleep close to him for the night. Back when he was still human, Kenai once learned from the elders that most dreams were believed to be symbolized as a warning or a sign of something on its way. For this dream, he couldn't really understand much of it, other than it reminding him and Koda of their failure to be a huge hit enough to save the Disney Company from going downhill. Why couldn't it have been? How could this have happened?

Just after the two bears had fallen asleep, smoky images swirled around them. Minutes later, Kenai and Koda woke up to find that they were standing in the midst of Main Street Park at Disneyland. Only that the skies were dark and grey. And the tumbleweeds blew in the quiet and uninhabited streets. Not a single human or toon was around.

**AN**: _Here is an update finally. Sorry for the long wait everyone. I had to watch Atlantis, Treasure Planet, and Brother Bear a few times before I could upload again. I didn't think they were bad movies at all. Maybe not the best in the whole wide world, but anyone can learn one thing or two from watching them. Well it all depends on how people see them from their own point of view. I learned that Disney originally made plans for a television series called Team Atlantis, but swept it aside after it's failure. But I must admit, a television series of the movie would have been interesting to watch. Anyway, it looks like the worst part is on the way. What will happen? Stay tuned and find out. Oops, I forgot to mention that I would like to give credit to Yensid365 for helping me with the hints and tips._


	5. The Ultimate Nightmare

**Chapter 5: The Ultimate Nightmare**

"Kenai, where are we?" Koda said nervously, staying close to Kenai. "This isn't how I remember Main Street at all. What's happened here?"

"I don't know, but stay close," Kenai whispered as he and Koda were walking down the streets toward Cinderella's castle. "This is just odd. If this is Disneyland, I wonder how long it's been since we went into hibernation. This couldn't have just happened recently. Or could it?"

Koda only shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. Why don't we go see if Mickey is at his house? He's gotta be there."

"Alright," Kenai agreed. "Mickey's house it is."

The curious and confused bears kept going while staring at a few of the buildings now nothing more than moss covered, signboard swinging, old age structures that were wasting away every minute; more like this park has been abandoned for ages. But what could have caused this? And where did all the toons go? They needed to find answers urgently. But they wouldn't know unless they entered Toon Town. Of course, neither of them was aware of a dark shadow passing and stalking them silently from building to building.

When they finally passed through the castle into Fantasy Land, a shocking surprise awaited there as well. The paintings and pictures off Snow White's Scary Adventures, Peter Pan's Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Adventure, and The Mad Hatter Teacups were scrapped, torn, and vandalized in a sorry sight unbearable for any human or toon to gaze upon. Kenai and Koda stood back in a dreadful pause.

"Kenai, the rides, they're completely…completely…" Koda couldn't say what he saw.

"…destroyed," Kenai finished, staring wide eyed at the destruction. Somehow he was starting to feel a sensation of fear and anger to wonder who would ever have the guts to do this to a wonderful, glorious attraction. "Come on Koda, I don't know how this happened but we have to find Mickey." Then he dashed off.

"Hey Kenai wait up!" Koda called, darting after him.

Onward they went running in every direction only to find all the rides and attractions in Fantasy Land from Cinderella's Golden Carrousel to It's a Small World deserted, torn and damaged heartbreakingly. "MICKEY! MICKEY!" They both called out in panic to each character's name. "DONALD, GOOFY, PLUTO, RUTT, TUKE, WHERE ARE YOU?" They shouted until they were hoarse. There was not an echo in answer amongst the ruins of the once glorious park. It was as if the characters that had once roamed this park had suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth, taking the happiness, magic, love, and all beautiful things with them.

"What do we do now?" Koda asked in despair, walking back to Kenai. "Everyone couldn't have disappeared…or moved away. It can't be true. Then why are we still here?"

"I don't know," Kenai shook his head sadly, comforting Koda as he felt him cry.

This moment was interrupted by the swift wind blowing behind them harshly and hung on tight to each other for protection. Their eyes were shut tight as it blew more violently and lasted for thirty seconds. And the moment the two bears opened their eyes, the park had completely disappeared. The buildings, rides, attractions, everything was gone. And now they were surrounded by total darkness.

* * *

To make matters worse, Kenai and Koda were apparently not the only ones to be trapped in some mysterious nightmare without an explanation. It started happening to the others who felt left out and forgotten. Jim Hawkins had found himself dashing through a ruined Tomorrow Land in a dreadful panic, wondering what happened to the park and where everyone else had gone.

"MOM, SILVER, DOPPLER, AMELIA!" he hollered at the top of his lungs. "MICKEY!" There was no answer, but that didn't stop him from leaving Tomorrow Land as he starting running in order to get to Mickey's house without stopping, despite the ache ness in his legs. _Please someone tell me this didn't happen because of me_. He pleaded in his mind as he panted. But as soon as Jim reached the opening of Toon Town, he collapsed on his knees, unable to run any longer. Panting heavily, Jim took a few minutes to catch his breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. How could all this have happened? "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" He hollered as loud as he could.

"Well look whose come crawling back!" A wicked voice jeered from somewhere.

Jim nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice. "Who said that? C'mon show yourself!"

"Fool, why have you come back when no one wants you around?" the voice felt venomous like a spider.

"Scroop, is that you? I said show yourself!" Jim stood defiant. "I'm not afraid of anything you say about me!"

"Everyone says you're a loser Jim," the voice sliced through. "They expected you to be big and important, but a rebellious brat isn't nearly as remarkable as the rest of your little family of other popular heroes. All he's good for is making his mother cry."

Jim was steamed, yet he fought to keep tears of grief from showing. "I'm aware of my own flaws. And I have regrets. But who else doesn't make mistakes in their life!"

"Don't you see Jim? The real mistake is YOU! You can never gain the respect you desire, even if you wanted to. Who'd want a rebellious boy for a role model?"

Jim clutched his head, tears growing. "No, no that isn't true. I don't think only of myself, I…"

Then the voice snarled in loathing. "Selfish, insolent and pathetic worm you are!" Jim buckled and fell back on his knees. These words cut through like a knife. The voice continued mercilessly. "You were never meant to be honored from the beginning. The boss only used you to bring money for himself and never wanted to love you like a real son. And afterward, every lovable character faded out of _existence_!"

"NOOOOO!" Jim screamed in horror. Was it true that Mickey and all the other characters had disappeared for good? Was that why the whole park was now standing as abandoned and forgotten? Was he just part of some man's greed to take money from honest people and be tricked into thinking that anyone would care about him? As he cowered in grief, Jim failed to notice the park disappear completely and didn't realize he was surrounded in complete darkness until he opened his eyes. Next thing Jim knew, he was trembling with utter rage.

* * *

In Adventure Land, the three cows Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway had found themselves transported here mysteriously and were just as shocked at the dreadful condition this area was in. They too had called out for the other character's names and heard nothing. The park seemed deserted for many centuries like a long forgotten city.

"Is it me or has this place aged beyond every century?" Maggie muttered, gazing at the wreckage of the Swiss Family Tree house now broken and battered. "I can't believe what I'm seeing. This can't be the Adventure Land from what it used to be. Somebody get me a calendar."

"Where, in the abandoned gift shop?" Mrs. C spoke sarcastically. "The only thing we'd find there is nothing…nothing but dusty cobwebs and empty shelves."

"But how would a most sensational and wondrous park like Disney Land suddenly turn from happiness to a gloomy abandonment?" Grace said worriedly. "Did something happen while we were away?"

"No," Mrs. C responded, stepping toward the wreckage of The Enchanted Tiki Room where sticks and mechanical tropical birds laid around in bad condition. "This couldn't have happened overnight. What do I make of it? I'm not so sure." Then she inspected the Tiki statues and noticed torn off parts and hacked areas." But it almost looks as if the park was attacked and overrun by who-knows-what." She shook her head dismally, secretly hoping that she was wrong.

"Attacked!" Maggie was stunned and rushed to stare at what Mrs. Calloway was talking about. "But what kind o' varmint would wanna lay waste to a good ol' family park? This is an outrage!"

"Indeed it is," Mrs. C agreed. "But let's head over to Frontier Land. There may be a clue to find the answers."

"Alright, let's go."

Maggie and Mrs. C started a few steps away from the Enchanted Tiki Room, but then looked back to see that Grace was still standing in front of the place in disbelief and sorrow.

"Poor innocent birds," Grace moaned, staring at the broken mechanical birds. "Since when have they done anything to deserve this?"

"Come along Grace!" shouted Mrs. C. "There's nothing we can do for this place now."

"Coming Mrs. C," Grace sighed as she turned to follow her friends to find the path leading to Frontier Land.

Everywhere in Adventure Land, the girls passed through the ruins of the Jungle Cruise ride where the river had dried up completely leaving no drop of water. The robotic hippos and elephants no longer operated and stood lifeless. Caribbean Plaza still stood, but was covered in moss.

And once they had entered through Pirates of the Caribbean, the girls stopped in their tracks when the eerie sound of hissing and growling echoed behind. Whirling around, the pirates had come to life and the girls watched in horror as the grinding, animatronics began stalking toward them, sending the girls back into a corner. The skull-and-crossbones on the wall stared at them in the eye and moaned, "Dead men tell no tales!"

"Dead men…you mean these guys?" Maggie whimpered, cringing at both the sudden movement of the skull on the wall and the pirates with their swords pointed at the girls. "Anyone got an idea outta this?"

"How about you sit on all of them," Mrs. C suggested, shivering behind Grace. "That might help."

"Ha ha, very funny," was all Maggie could think of. She was too frightened to be offended by the remark.

"Surrender yourselves yah scurvy bovine!" one pirate threatened. "We ain't got a place for vermin like you. So be gone with yah; unless ye want your heads rollin'."

"Alright you heard what he said girls," Maggie said in a frightened tone. "Let's get on outta here on the double."

"Wait a minute," Grace interrupted, once scared and then thought of something. "Perhaps…perhaps these guys can be reasoned with."

"Grace no!" Mrs. C protested. "Don't do it!"

But Grace was already moving cautiously and slowly toward the angry pirates, despite the fact that they were still holding their swords. She was still a bit scared, but this had to work. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway remained still against the wall wondering what Grace was up to.

"Boys, boys, violence ain't any way to solve anything," Grace said firmly, staring at the pirates with a serious expression. "We mean you no harm. We come here in peace. You don't really wanna kill us do you?" The pirates stopped moving and gazed at her with curiosity and puzzlement. "Just take a deep breath, let it out, put down your swords, and we'll settle whatever is making you all angry. What do you say?" She gave a nervous grin.

The pirates stared at each other for a few seconds. And once they turned back to the cows, their hateful expressions worsened. Grace stared at them in alarm and backed away as the pirates got closer to her in utter fury. Soon one of them had his sword pointed at her throat.

"HA HA, nice try there. But no kind words to us will save your souls. We're here to finish off whatever's a disgrace to this once-glorious company. Now it stands seeped in dark decay!"

Backed against the wall, Grace swallowed in fear, feeling the sharp tip of the sword ready to pierce any minute. "You probably hate cows then."

"SILENCE! Ye don't belong here anyway. Ye never did. Even the boss who once owned this place never cared bout ye. He himself claimed our _only motive is to make money_…nothin' special. Your disgrace n' stupidity couldn't even save the animation department from shutting down. If you never existed, the characters would still be alive today. Take a look over there."

With those words pierced into the hearts of the frightened girls, they turned their heads to the left to see a sixty acre graveyard of tombstones with character's names. It couldn't be real…but it was.

"No, it can't be!" Maggie shouted.

"How could this have happened?" Grace whimpered.

"Everyone died ye brainless halfwits!" The pirate snapped. "Honestly, what would a bunch o' stupid bovines know bout true magic?"

"What's that supposed to mean BUB?" Maggie asked furiously.

"None of us knows why the executives thought you weren't good enough. The boss only wanted ye outta the way so he could finally do things his own way. He believed that if characters today no longer lived up to the expectations o' bigger Disney heroes, then why bother with ye? What are cows like you good for? Nothing…except to be eaten, skinned, and especially neglected like useless objects. Now everyone who hates ye will be pointin' their accusin' fingers, and tauntin' ye with endless verbs! And soon enough, you'll meet an untimely demise."

The girls froze silently, battered and broken on the inside from someone saying this to their faces. Right now Grace could feel tears preparing to come out of her eyes, and couldn't stop them as they rolled down. This was all too much for her to handle. The girls had thought before that they were never any good to Michael Eisner or any genius director, but they didn't think that someone would say it to their face anytime soon. Why couldn't they see it coming? Their spirits were broken. Maybe the pirate was right. What was the point in pretending to be heroes now?

"FINISH'EM OFF!"

At that command, the pirates surrounded the girls and raised their swords in the air for a strike.

"NO!" Grace begged, cowering on the floor next to her friends.

Rather than be sliced by the heaving swords, the mechanical pirates suddenly disappeared along with the entire Adventure Land Park. And the frightened cows stopped cowering once they opened their eyes to find that nothing but complete darkness encircled everything. Great, now it looks like they might have faded out of existence and cast off into a forgotten realm of misery…if that's what this place was.

Meanwhile in her lair, Maleficent watched the unsuspecting lesser heroes from her staff. Chernabog, from his mountain top, reached his hand out, and his shadow covered her, granting Maleficent his dark powers.

"So, I guess this is how it was meant to be for us," Maggie whispered drearily. "Alone, forgotten, and abandoned…in the dark." A painful lump formed in her throat. Why couldn't they have been humans instead of cows? Would people have accepted them then?

"_It doesn't have to be this way you know_."

The girls jumped at the sound of a mysterious dark voice somewhere in the dark. But none of them saw anything.

"What are you?" Mrs. C demanded, ready to defend her friends, although the voice sent chills down their spines.

"_Have no fear; I'm not here to harm you. I'm just here to warn you. What you have seen before you…was only an illusion. In other words, just a vision of what might pass…in the future. But don't blame yourselves; nobody seems to understand that it's not your fault. There is a way to stop this tragedy from happening."_ The girls paused before answering. _"Think back to it. Who neglected to take care of you in the first place, denying you the love and respect you truly deserved, but never got from anyone? And who was never there to stand up for you when everyone pointed out your flaws? But most of all, who brought upon death and destruction to the most beloved park in America?"_

The girls thought about what she said for a moment, then shouted altogether. "MICHAEL!"

"_Unless the real cause is stopped, you and all that lies in the Magic Kingdom will cease to exist_! _And mortals will stop believing. NOW GO GET HIM_!"

Within a matter of minutes, each of the five lesser known heroes woke up in their own world with burning anger in their eyes. All of their minds were focused on one thing alone; GET EISNER!!

**AN**: _Sorry this took so long to update. Not only did I have a few problems with my stupid computer, but I've been also starting work on a few short cartoons in production. I will keep my computer hours to evenings each day, depending on how busy I am with housework and preparing for a Halloween party. I'd like to give credit to Yensid365 for helping me with advice, hints and tips. And on her advice, I did my best not to make it sound like the villains referring to the characters as box-office failures too much, but to dress them down as losers. I hope I did just that, and I hope I'm doing alright at keeping everyone in character. If not, let me know._


	6. Attack at the Office

**Chapter 6: Attack at the Office**

It all happened so quickly. Each of the lesser five heros just suddenly snapped after waking up and hightailed out of their world angrily, in the middle of the night. Somehow without consciousness or understanding of what they were about to do, the five had hopped out of bed, dressed up, and marched off their homeland, their hearts and minds suddenly filled with burning anger, hate, pain, tension, dissatisfaction, and vengeance. No amount of love, joy, or happiness was left during their destination to the office at Disneyland. A few people were even pushed aside without being apologized to. So many things had been racing in their corrupted minds, that none of them were even thinking straight about the people around them. Their only concern was getting rid of Eisner themselves, once and for all. It was all his fault that everybody hated them. They were denied and neglected of love and respect just because they were not good enough for him or anybody. And now it was payback time.

_Nobody understands us_. Maggie thought bitterly, staring at the small window of the train the girls were riding inside. _Why does everyone have to act like it's our fault this whole war started_? _We didn't ask for any of this to happen. It just did, but no one understands us. Aren't we all different? Or are we **alone** too different for humans to handle? Well if that's the case, its time to make that Michael ruffian pay the price! _The more the girls thought of Michael Eisner, the more their anger flared like a hot fuse attached to a bomb.

The same thing had happened with Kuzco, Milo, Jim, Kenai, and Koda who traveled over to the Disneyland office in different ways; whether it was by a flying Atlantis device, solar surfboard, ship, or riding on river by a tree log. If no one would get rid of Eisner, they would!

"That's right, go and get him," Maleficent cackled, watching the five within her magical sphere. "Let out all your feelings of anger and hatred to use it against the one who did this to you! Don't let anyone stop you. They all must pay!" Her wicked laughter echoed inside her lair.

* * *

_At the office_

Two hours after midnight, the five unknown heroes met up unexpectedly at Main Street. Milo had been dressed in his traveling clothes and Jim had on his pants, boots, shirt and jacket. But rather than question each other about their sudden appearance, they all marched down the dark streets together toward the studio office like an angry mob, shouting over and over "Get rid of Eisner! Get rid of Eisner!" This time, nothing was going to stop the five from getting their revenge on Michael.

When the five had finally approached the front of the studio, Jim took out a few small pebbles he had tucked in his pocket along the way. Before thinking of barging in there, he and the others wanted to find out if Michael would poke his head out from the commotion, and then see if the stone would hit him right between the eyes. And to their luck, Eisner was having a late night meeting with his coworkers, unaware of the fives' presence outside.

"Oh great, now how do go in there and get him?" Jim moaned, crossing his arms with disappointment. "We can't attack him in front of all those people, can we?"

"What does it matter?" Maggie snarled, gazing over at the windows. "I say we just barge in there and get it over with!" She started on the first five steps of the stairs. But before she could go another step, Milo's hands caught her tail. "Now what is it?" She demanded.

"Yeah what's the holdup?!" Kuzco added, close to doing the same thing as Maggie. "We gotta go get him, don't we?"

"Not by barging in without a plan," Milo answered firmly, not letting go of Maggie. "We need to get pass security first." He pointed up at a security camera hanging above the office doors. "One of us has got to sneak up behind and disable it."

"Leave that to me." Jim volunteered. With his sneaking tactics, Jim got down on all fours and cautiously moved forward enough to reach the wall. Soon he was able to cut the wires with one of his gadgets. "I got it." But there were still a few cameras left to disable in front and the back. And to Jim's surprise, he found the main power control to all the lights inside the office. With a wicked smile, he opened it and found the red and blue wires. "Lights out Michael Eisner!" He scoffed, clipping the wires.

Inside the office, the group had gasped at the unexpected blackout and jumped at the crash of the window breaking. When Michael went to take a look, he saw nothing until he heard a familiar shout from Kuzco.

"HEADS UP!"

Without warning, a pebble shot forward and struck Michael right between the eyes. Then afterward, a dirt clod followed, leaving dirt spluttered all around his face. He gave a small cry of pain and jumped away from the window. Taking a small peek, he looked to see the five underrated characters that he had never taken an interest in or never bothered to show them the same kind of love that Walt Disney had for his creations. And now they were standing outside of his office yelling out angry remarks and throwing pebbles.

"What are those toons doing here disturbing my meeting?" Michael whispered to himself. "Do they want a raise?"

"Yep, just as I thought!" Maggie retorted. "The jerk wad is afraid to come out of his own shell. Let's go in there and give him a painful lesson he'll never forget!"

"YEAH!!" The rest of them shouted altogether, dashing for the front doors.

Eisner in a panic rushed to the front doors and grabbed two iron bars to keep the door from breaking down. Not wanting to get involved in any of this, the other coworkers rushed out of the room and out the back door for an escape. Michael didn't know what these ridiculous characters wanted from him, but he certainly was not in the mood at this time of night to hear them out.

BOOOOOM! His office suddenly shook as Eisner guessed that one of them was trying to knock the door down, causing him to pile other objects against the front entrance. He rushed outside the window to find the cows using their heavy weight to break the door down.

"Stop it, you're damaging my building!" Eisner shouted from the broken window. But when he saw the warning glance off the girls' faces, he moved away.

"Your building!" Maggie bellowed, still charging along with the other two girls. Then she said in a mocking tone. "Did you hear that girls? We're damaging his most precious, joyous building! I wonder if he says the same thing with his dirty money!"

"I'll say, give me that pebble!" Koda agreed, swiping a pebble from Jim to throw it at the window. "That's for making us feel like a bunch of outcasts! Why couldn't you let anyone do their job of spending time to make us better?" Koda was referring to how things at the studio were just sped up.

"And if we're such bad characters as everyone thinks," Milo Thatch added, a flash of anger crossing his face. "Then I guess we'll have to act like it." he too had hurled a large rock at the window, hoping it would hit Eisner. When he missed, Milo went for the rest of the other windows to find out if Eisner was hiding behind one of them. All he heard was broken glass, but that didn't stop Milo, Jim, and Koda from throwing pebbles.

"You always knew we could have made something of ourselves!" Kenai shouted, angrily breaking glass from another window in hopes of squeezing inside. But he was way too big. "But now look what your arrogance has put us in!"

"YOU FIVE ARE NONE OF MY CONCERN ANYMORE!!" Eisner's frightened and angry voice shouted from behind the sealed doors. The girls stopped charging to listen closely. "YOU HEAR ME? BUSINESS IS BUSINESS. SOMETIMES YOU SUCCEED, SOMETIMES YOU FAIL. YOU ALL FAILED YOURSELVES, SO DEAL WITH IT! NOW GO AWAY!"

"DEAL WITH IT?!" Maggie howled. Enraged, she and the girls went back to charging at the door. "THAT'S EXACTLY THE WHOLE POINT! YOU NEVER HAD A CLUE WHAT WE WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE TIME BECAUSE YOU NEVER CARED! AND WE'RE SICK AND TIRED OF DEALING WITH IT!"

"And what's the point in explaining our anger out to someone who never defended his fellow toons from the accusations and insults thrown at them?" Jim snapped, pointing his accusing finger at the door. "You did nothing!"

"You always had your head filled with money and no brains!" Milo shrieked.

Inside the office, Eisner saw that the objects against the doors were not doing that much good with keeping them shut. And to make matters worse, Milo and Jim were helping Koda squeeze through the broken windows since he was the smallest. Panicking, Michael left the office to do something about this, before the doors finally burst open with a deafening crash. When the five had entered, they stopped short to see that Eisner was no longer in the room. This had only made them more infuriated as they tossed, turned, and wrecked every object in the office to see where he could be hiding.

"I'll bet he's hiding out in the halls!" Koda snapped, rushing out in the halls to track down his scent with the five following. The tone in the little cub's voice had become bitter and accusing, even at a young age.

"YOU WOULD'VE ABANDONED US OUT IN THE RAIN TO ROT!" Maggie erupted, not hiding any more of her anger toward Eisner. The rest of her words were spoken with a harsh, vicious growl. If Michael had seen the look on her hateful expression, he might have had a heart attack. "AND AFTER ALL WE WORKED THROUGH TO MAKE YOU PROUD OF US! YOU MADE US BELIEVE THAT WE WERE IMPORTANT. YOU MADE US BELIEVE THAT WE WERE LOVED. YOU MADE US BELIEVE THAT WE COULD MAKE PEOPLE SMILE. BUT ONCE YOU TURNED AWAY WHEN PEOPLE SCORNED US, WE FOUND OUT RIGHT AWAY THAT IT WAS ALL A **_LIE_**!!" She knocked over a vase furiously, sending it crashing on the floor in a dozen pieces. "HOW'S THAT FOR LOVE?!"

Just then Maggie's fiery eyes caught sight of a picture hanging on the wall. It was a photo of Michael Eisner standing in between Mickey and Minnie during a parade celebration several years ago. He was smiling, which was irritating for the five to gaze upon. Snatching it off the wall, Maggie tossed the picture across the hallway roughly, breaking the glass. The muscles in her legs tightened and clenched, a flash of loathing exploded in her angry eyes.

"HOW COULD YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON EVERYONE?!" Maggie bellowed, stomping the halls and knocking over more vases. The girls followed her move as well. "ALL OF US DID EVERYTHING WE COULD TO PLEASE YOU, AND INSTEAD YOU BETRAYED US!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" added Grace harshly, her tone transformed from sweet to unforgiving. "NO MATTER HOW HARD WE WORKED, NOTHING WAS EVER GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE LIKES OF YOU! WHAT KIND OF MAN TREATS HIS CHILDREN LIKE DIRT?!" The kindness behind her eyes was replaced with pure anger.

"HONESTLY, AN ARROGANT MAN LIKE YOU WOULDN'T KNOW REAL LONELINESS IF HE HAD A GOOD DOSE OF IT HIMSELF!" Mrs. C snarled.

While the girls had been ranting at Michael, Kenai and Koda suddenly caught the scent of Eisner behind a closed door ahead of them.

"He's in that room!" Kenai pointed out. "Come on, we'll claw him out!"

Just before the five could go any further down the hallways, a puff of black mist encircles in the midst of the halls. And towering before them was the mistress of all evil, Maleficent.

"Well done, you all," she sneered. "Lovely to see that everything is going exactly as we planned."

The five stood back in bewilderment and confusion by her sudden appearance. And when the knob of the secured door turned, Maleficent quickly snapped her fingers magically, breaking the five out of their enraged trance.

"Whoa, how did we all get here?" Maggie said, staring at the broken glass littered around her hooves. "Was I sleepwalking?" Noticing Maleficent, she muttered. "And who's the tall black lady standing here?"

The other heroes never had a chance to ask any more questions when they found the opened door revealing Eisner standing in between a dozen security guards he had called for while the five broke in, wrecking his office.

"In league with the villains are we?" Eisner accused. "I should have seen this coming."

"No, we had nothing to do with her!" Jim protested. "I mean…I can't even remember how we got here! None of us can!"

"I order you all to finish them off!" Maleficent ordered the five, making it seem like they were in league with her the whole time. "Do it or else you will all perish!"

"Just as I thought; throw them all out of the studio!" Eisner demanded, refusing to give the five a chance to explain themselves. "I don't ever want to see their faces here again…EVER!"

The security guards head toward the five, but Maleficent quickly disappears in a blast of smoke before she can get caught.

"No, don't throw us out!" Koda pleaded as he was picked up by a guard. "We didn't know what we were doing, honest!"

"If you would just listen to us," Jim added severely, unable to fight his way out of their grasp. "Maybe you would understand!"

But no one, not even Eisner would listen to them as the lesser known heroes were dragged all the way out to the front entrance. Try as they might, there were too many security guards for them to fight back. Their spirits were completely broken, even when Grace saw that Eisner disappeared inside the room. To her, it was the same as always. Shutting them out just like that.

* * *

_Outside of the Gates_

"GET OUT OF HERE AND NEVER COME BACK!" one of the security guards shouted at the five from the inside of the studios. "AND IF YOU EVER SHOW YOUR FACES AROUND HERE AGAIN, WE'LL CALL THE TOON PATROL! NOW GET OUT!" The guards turned away from the gate and went back inside the studios.

The five heroes, Kuzco, Milo, Jim, Kenai, Koda, Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. C stood from the outside clinging onto the iron bars of the gate. Eisner's words had stung them like a hornet. It was true after all. Just as they feared, Eisner never cared about them. If he did, then he wouldn't have been uncaring enough to kick them out. How they all arrived here so quickly inside his office was still questionable. All they remembered was being angry and infuriated over being neglected and forgotten. This must have had something to do with that wicked black lady somehow. But from being locked out, there seemed to be no possible way of proving it. How could they?

"Come on you guys, we don't need this place," Kuzco said coldly. "We'll just go where we're not in anyone's face anymore that's for sure." He turned and walked away from the gate.

"I can't believe it," Milo whispered, distraught from all this. "Banished from the only place that we once called home." He turned to follow Kuzco.

Jim said nothing as he did the same thing with walking away. He was too shattered to utter a word. Soon Kenai and Koda followed along, including the girls. What was the point in staying? Nobody wanted them around. With nothing else to do, the five left the park…never to return again.

**AN**: _I had to rewrite this chapter a bit to fix some errors. Once again, sorry for the long update. And I must still give credit to Yensid365 for helping me to come up with this idea, even though I had to write this chapter without her help. But I would also like to thank the users for reviewing. I appreciate it. You can't blame the five for erupting like that. But then again, they really didn't know what they were getting themselves into, no thanks to the spell. What will happen next? Stay Tuned for the next chapter to find out._


	7. An Uprising

**Chapter 7: An Uprising**

Later that night back in Toon Town in Mickey's house, Mickey slept in his bed while Pluto slept on the floor next to him. At this time it seemed that nothing would disturb his sleep; until the phone rang unexpectedly.

RRRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGG!!!

Mickey woke up by the sound of Pluto's barking. "Whoa, what is it Pluto? Is something the matter pal?" Then he turned his head to the phone when it rang the second time. "Oh, well now who would be calling at this hour?" Picking it up, he answered. "Hello?"

"Mickey Mouse, I'm sorry to call you this late," It was Sara Hawkins speaking, her voice a bit anxious. "But it's Jim. I don't know what's gotten into him, but he just woke up with this…this cold emotionless look on his face. I told him to get back to bed, but he shoved me on the floor without even apologizing." Her voice choked. "Then Jim said he was going to give Michael a piece of his mind…before taking off on his surfboard. He ignored every word I said."

Mickey was shocked by this. "What, that doesn't sound like Jim. Was there anything else he said about Michael?"

"All Jim said was that he wanted to give Michael a piece of his mind and make him pay for all of this," answered Sara hesitantly.

"Haven't you tried calling the space cops?"

"I've done that, but they were unable to track him down. Now I'm worried Jim might have flown down to Michael's office doing who-knows-what to get himself in trouble."

"Alright, now calm down Mrs. Hawkins," Mickey pleaded. "I'm sure Jim is fine. Perhaps he's still a bit worked up from what's been happening with our company lately. So…"

BEEP! Before Mickey could finish, another sound signaled a call on the other line. Thinking quickly, he spoke to Sara.

"…listen I got a call on the other line. But if Jim is still on Montressor somewhere, keep this in touch with the space cops. I'll check the office and contact the Toon Patrol." He dialed on the other line for the next call. "Hello?"

"Mickey, this is Pearl Gesner speakin'," the voice answered with the same hysterical tone. "I just woke up after hearin' a commotion outside and witnessed the girls stompin' their way outta the farm. I tried to stop'em, but they wouldn't listen to me. They just kept marchin' and marchin' till they was outta sight on the train headin' to California."

Mickey listened in as Pearl's anxious words went on when she explained how her dear cows had these angry, emotionless expressions on their faces as if they weren't themselves. And when another call came from the Atlantis crew, Mickey was already getting this bad feeling that something fishy was happening with the five and realized that he needed to drive down to the office to check on things right away.

* * *

_In front of the office_

Mickey drove his toon car hastily until it was parked in front of the office. Then he and Pluto hopped off to dash up the stairs. To their surprise, the doors were torn and the windows were broken. Mickey's face had turned pale as he looked around, taking a full scope of the damage. The glass and wood pieces littered the ground.

"Oh no," Mickey's voice was empty and hollow-sounding while he stared at the big wreckage. "What happened here?"

"THEY HAPPENED HERE OF COURSE!"

Mickey jumped a bit when Michael Eisner just popped in front of the torn door, shouting in an angry, outraged voice.

"Those characters from those five useless movies just came crashing in here and started tearing up the place, trying to get to me. Look at the mess they made inside!"

Entering the office, Mickey's eyes grew wider with shock to find shredded paper, chewed wood, broken pencils, and other office supplies scattered all over the place. It was almost as if a strong gust of wind had blown itself in and messed up everything in its path.

"Oh my goodness!" Mickey gasped, as did Pluto. "I can't believe what I'm seeing. Are you sure it was…?" his voice trailed off.

"I'm positive Mickey," Michael interrupted, picking up some shredded paper to show him. "Look at this, paper torn apart and bitten by two talking bears." He pointed to the doors. "Doors knocked down by three cows. Windows are broken and it's going to take forever to clean up this mess. I gotta call the janitor tomorrow and tighten up security."

"Now wait a minute Michael, there must be some kinda mistake here. No one in my family would ever do a thing like this on their own unless…" He then turned to Michael with a meaningful glance. "Where are they now? I'm sure I can straighten this all out by having a talk with them. Where are they?"

That was when Michael suddenly clapped his mouth in silence, and then turned to walk out of the office, leaving Mickey's question unanswered. Mickey furrowed his eyebrow suspiciously, sensing that there was something hiding behind the CEO's silent treatment. And it certainly wasn't going to stop the beloved mouse from anything.

"Michael, I said where are they?" Mickey shouted sternly, catching up to him. "What's going on here?" Michael kept on walking down the halls until Mickey hollered angrily. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" That was when the CEO stopped in his tracks, but refused to turn his back to Mickey. "I deserve to know what happened with every member of my family. This is my park and my home as it is Walt's. And I ain't leaving here until you tell me what happened to them."

Seeing that there might have been no use in keeping the mouse in the dark, Michael reluctantly admitted to his act. "I…sent them away…Mickey."

Mickey's face turned paler with an expression of shock and betrayal. Pluto had done the same. Did he just say what Mickey thought he said?

"You…what?"

"I had to banish them Mickey," Michael answered without any guilt in his voice. "They were in league with Maleficent. She was commanding them to attack me. I saw it with my own eyes."

"_MALEFICENT_?!" Mickey could barely contain his anger from within. "That's outrageous. No one in my family would ever go with the villains under any circumstances and you know it. I know those five! None of them would ever do such a thing!" He then furiously pointed his finger at Michael. "We've waited long enough to settle things with you Michael Eisner and hoped that you would listen. But this time, you've crossed the line! Come on Pluto!"

Pluto made a low growl at Michael before following Mickey outside the office. Michael glanced over his shoulder to see that they were gone in a rush. Believing that he had nothing to fear from Mickey and the other toons, the CEO walked over to the nearest telephone in one of the nearest offices to make a secret call.

"Hello security, this is Michael Eisner calling. Now that those five so-called heroes are out of my sight, I want you to do something else for me. Fire their costars. We can't take any more chances."

* * *

Mickey did not want Michael or Pluto to ever notice the tears stinging in his eyes after dashing out from the office to the front gates. He just couldn't believe what Michael didn't want to tell him. The man just drove away part of his family from the park and the home where they belonged. How could he do that? Everyone in Toon Town knew that the real world was dangerous and unknown for a toon to be wondering out on their own without any experience. The heartbroken mouse refused to believe that the five were gone for good. That is until he recently got a call from the Toon Patrol reporting that the five were nowhere to be found.

"JIM, MILO, KENAI, MAGGIE!!" Mickey cried out in despair, clutching the iron bars of the front locked gates. "KUZCO, KODA, GRACE, WHERE ARE YOU!?" No answer came from the outside.

All Mickey saw were cars driving down the streets, but no sign of the banished five. It couldn't be true, but it was. A saddened Pluto tried his best to comfort Mickey with a soft nudge. Mickey was grateful for that when he gave his dog a pat on the head, but deep down, his broken heart remained empty and unfulfilled without the banished five. Why couldn't he have seen this coming? Then he might have known that Maleficent and the rest of the villains would be up to something. But how could he prove that to Michael? Mickey sank to the ground as tears were beginning to fall from his eyes. It troubled his mind to wonder what exactly Maleficent did to cause them to snap and attack the office. She must have somehow used her powers to fill their heads with lies.

"Aw Pluto, how could I let this happen?" Mickey turned to Pluto with sorrowful eyes. "I always knew Michael Eisner was getting out of hand with everything, but I never stopped to think that he would do a thing like _banishment_…especially if you hear that someone you care about is…gone."

Mickey buried his face in Pluto's shoulder and burst into an agony of tears. He never even noticed Pluto had also wept for him. Since he could not talk, all Pluto could do was stay with Mickey, never wanting to leave him. It pained him too much to see his dear master in this much sorrow and agony. The five underrated heroes could be anywhere by now.

* * *

Elsewhere near the docks off the coast of California, the Forgotten Five sadly sat and waited for a boat to come and take them away to a land known as the Island of Forgotten Dreams. The island was known by most humans and toons to be a terrible place where banished toons went to not only be forgotten forever, but to be faded out of existence. The boat however wasn't due to arrive until 4am and it was now 3:15am. None of them were bothered with waiting that long. At least they could use this spare time to chat amongst each other and remember how Mickey's visitation made them feel important and wanted, unlike those silly humans who always scorned them for being different. What was so wrong with being different anyway? Well whatever the reason, the five were now left with the belief that perhaps Mickey and the gang will be better off without them once the boat gets here and takes them away forever.

"So…what do you guys think will happen once Mickey finds out we're gone?" Kuzco piped up, cutting off the long moment of silence. He wasn't in the mood for jokes and he figured that the others wouldn't be as well.

"Who knows," Jim said coldly, his head facing down. "It's not like we're that important for everyone else to even notice that five underappreciated heroes are missing under their noses. They'll be too busy celebrating their own success. I just know it. And if we go back now, what will Mickey think of us when he sees what we've done?"

"Maybe if we tried to explain…" Grace was starting to somehow suggest going back to settle things.

"EXPLAIN WHAT?!" Jim exploded, turning around to face a startled Grace. "How in the heck are we to explain how we found ourselves at the office without knowing it? How do we explain that we had nothing to do with that tall black lady after she appeared and made it look like we were working for her? How could we prove it? No one will believe us!"

Jim's anger and outburst caused Grace to step back and remain silent. From what he mentioned, there was no use arguing with that. Jim could only turn away to face the open sea. He didn't truly mean to lash out at her. But the emotions of disappointment, shame, and humiliation were finally getting to him as it was with Kuzco, Milo, Kenai, Koda, and the girls. He was angry at himself and the world. To be treated differently and ridiculed hurt so terribly, that it stung his eyes with tears.

"Alright, let's not use these last couple of minutes quarreling with one another," Kenai said calmly, holding a sleeping Koda in his arms. "I'm as upset and broken as you all are. But as long as we're together, we'll be fine…I mean…until the boat comes."

So none of the heroes said another word as they patiently waited in their own sorrow for the boat to come and take them to the Island of Forgotten Dreams.

"You know what I think," Maggie uttered lowly. "I think humans stink. Who needs them?"

The others agreed to this, knowing that her phrase did not include the human toons.

* * *

_Back at the gates_

For five minutes, the five were unaware that Mickey had still been crying on Pluto, lamenting the loss of his friends who were banished from the Magic Kingdom. He did care that they were gone, no matter what people said about them. Everyone in the Magic Kingdom knew that a beloved icon like Mickey Mouse would never lie, cheat, or take advantage of his family for whatever reason. Sure he made mistakes sometimes, but that didn't mean he was capable of hurting someone on purpose. He never had the heart to turn anyone away like Michael just did. What was he to do now?

"Mickey."

Mickey's weeping was suddenly interrupted when his ears perked up at the sound of Minnie's voice. He raised his head to see that Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Horace Horse Collar, Clarabelle, and Daisy were standing in front of him and Pluto, staring sadly.

"We heard what happened after we got these calls and…then we saw you and Pluto," Minnie declared. "Mickey, we're so sorry."

She went over to hug Mickey in a tight embrace and cried with him. Donald, Goofy, and Daisy soon followed. None of his friends could bear to see their club leader in this much pain. In his empty heart, those banished toons were no different than all the other toons who achieved more publicity and popularity, especially from Pixar. Even the critics' snotty opinions wouldn't change his feelings he held for them.

"Don't blame yourself Mickey," Minnie sobbed. "Don't you think that, even for one second that you caused their banishment. Michael did this, not you. None of us knew what was happening."

"Garsh, are we about to be banished too Mick?" Goofy whimpered. "Where would we go then? This is our one and only home."

That was when Mickey wiped away the last of his tears and looked at his friends with determination. "No, I won't have it." Then he stood up, encouragement kicking in. "I for one think we've waited far too long for things to get better around here. If we don't do something now, who knows what other terrible things Michael might do behind our backs. Sure he might have saved the company before when it got out of hand, but that was years ago. That was when he used to care. But this time, he's gone too far!" He stomped his foot in anger, surprising his friends.

"But what are we to do now Mick?" Goofy asked.

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do, we're going to gather all our friends to meet us here and start an up rise against Michael. Whether he listens to us or not, we'll show him that we're not as helpless as he thinks we are!"

"YEAH!" Donald stepped up, shaking his fist in the air. "NOBODY BANISHES MY PALS AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

So from there, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the rest of his pals went back to the park to contact all the Disney heroes, heroines, sidekicks, princes, and princesses by telephone and requesting for them to meet in front of the office right away. Even though it was now 3:45 in the morning, each and every Disney character from past to present had been shocked enough by the news of the banishing five to get up, get dressed, and meet Mickey and his pals over at the front gate. Everybody from Snow White, Prince Charming, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo, Bambi, the Reluctant Dragon, Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Lady and the Tramp, Prince Phillip, Pongo and Perdita, Merlin, Baloo, Bagheera, Mowgli, the Aristocats, Robin Hood, the Rescuers, Basil of Baker street, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Aladdin, Simba, Stitch, and all the rest had crowded their way over to hear what Mickey had to say. When Mickey noticed that the fives' costars did not turn up, he realized the same thing must have happened again as it did with the five.

"Listen up everybody!" Mickey announced. "I'm sorry to have dragged all of you out here at this hour. But I'm sure you've already heard the news about our friends' banishment from the Magic Kingdom."

The crowd of characters was suddenly abuzz and gasped at that awful word. Some of them murmured "I don't wanna be banished from my home" or "I'll have nowhere to go."

"No one is getting banished tonight!" Mickey shouted over the panicking cries. "I won't let it happen to any of you. We're here to up rise against Michael Eisner once and for all. We not gonna stand for anymore neglect and poor management on what our company stands for. Not only has he done damage to our reputation and the animation department, but he's sent away our friends out there to possibly fend for themselves without any proper guidance or experience of surviving in the human world. Walt would have never done that, would he?"

"NNOOOO!!" The crowd erupted.

"Then let's do this!"

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Daisy led the way as the cast of all the Disney characters followed them down to the front of the office to begin their up rise.

**AN**: _So sorry for the long wait everyone. Things had been a little hectic at home, even through the Christmas holidays. I would like to credit OneLuckyUnicorn for helping me with correcting some of the words and phrases on the first part of this chapter. Sorry if I uploaded this chapter without waiting for an answer on my last reply OneLuckyUnicorn. I apologize, but I just wanted to show people that I'm not leaving this story unfinished. And even if Yensid365 is no longer here, I still wish to give her credit for helping me with some ideas a while back. Did I do alright with this chapter or was it poorly done. I promise the next one will be action packed with the battle of the villains._


	8. Battle of the Villains

**Chapter 8: Battle of the Villains**

The Disney toons had started their uprising by marching down to the office, holding up signs labeled DOWN WITH EISNER, BRING BACK THE FIVE, BRING BACK 2D ANIMATION, WE ARE ALL ONE BIG FAMILY, or I WILL NOT BE BANISHED. Mickey and his friends led the way with the toons following him, as if they were marching off to war. As a matter of fact, all the Disney heroes and heroines were unaware that they were soon to be in for the war of their lives.

"Hey Michael, if you're still hiding in there, come on out and show yourself!" Mickey demanded as he shook up the sign labeled NO ONE SENDS AWAY MY FAMILY LIKE MICHAEL EISNER! "You heard me! Don't think that you could hide your face behind that window and get away with it! We already know what you did!"

The angry crowd of Disney characters pushed toward the office waving their signs around in the air. "If I were in your place as chairman, I could afford a heart and soul!" cried Aladdin. "What's happened to you anyway?"

"Such a fiendish, inconvenient leader you turned out to be Mr. Eisner!" Merlin snapped. "If I ever had someone like you for an apprentice, you'd be turned into an animal. And I don't think you'd like that would you! Now where's that confounded wand of mine?" The bumbling wizard began searching his robes and white beard. His pet owl Archimedes rolled his eyes to know that his master was always forgetting things when needed, especially at this time.

"Come on out and I'll tear you limb from limb here and there!" Baloo hollered, clenching his paws into fists. "You can't stay in there forever!"

After a few more shouts from Mulan, Peter Pan, and Alice, Mickey called out. "You see Michael? We are all one big family, no matter what. So we're not gonna stop until we see to it that you're outta here!"

Inside the wrecked office, Michael Eisner did manage to see the entire cast of Disney characters with their signs held up as they kept on shouting in words of outrage. Staring from the broken window, he sneered at the toons, surprised that they would foolishly go through all this just for those failures he had to get rid of. Were they really going to stand there shouting all night long as Mickey mentioned? They would have to give up sooner or later. Then again, how was he going to leave this office with the toons possibly surrounding the place? He had to think of something.

"Mickey, I don't think its working!" Goofy said worriedly. "What if he's not inside?"

"Oh he's inside alright Goofy," Mickey responded confidently. "He knows we're out here! I can hear him breathing in there, even among this crowd!"

When Michael wasn't showing himself, Donald's temper was flaring up like a hot fuse and he finally exploded. "COME ON OUT AND FIGHT YOU BACKSTABBER!" Then the hot tempered duck did his usual fist throwing movement he did every time he lost his temper.

With their uprising growing, the entire crowd of characters was suddenly becoming aware of the California breeze becoming surprisingly cold. Assuming that it was just a slight breeze, they kept on holding their signs. But soon a frigid gust of wind caught their interest and attention, especially when the smaller characters started hanging onto the larger toons for dear life. The sky above had turned into a deep black purplish color that blocked out the stars and moonlight. Forks of lightening danced about, sending a few down to strike below, terrorizing the toons. Murmurs of "What's happening?" were abuzz among them.

"Mickey, what's going on here?" Minnie shouted over the noise of the thunder. "This isn't natural!"

Out of nowhere, a huge bolt of lightening struck down in front of the office, throwing everyone back. The stunned, frightening characters shielded themselves as sparks rained down after the collision. Opening their eyes, a shocking sight welcomed them. It wasn't hard recognizing a familiar green faced woman in black clothing standing in the exact spot where the lightening first struck. The twisted horns above the stern, wicked attractive face was also recognizable. Her long fingers gripped the long staff of the glowing green orb.

The crowd drew back in fear, leaving gasps and cries of horror at the sight of Maleficent!

Mickey's eyes bulged at her sudden appearance. "Maleficent! I knew you had something to do with this!"

The Mistress of all evil looked over at Mickey with a smirk. "Why Mickey, whatever do you mean? I was only merely helping this company to be rid of such despicable creations." She replied coolly. "But don't worry about them. They won't be a bother to anyone ever again."

"What have you done to them Maleficent?" Minnie barked.

"What? The cows, the bears? This is interesting," she continued in a calm tone. "I would have thought such disgraceful characters like them would be of no concern to any of you since you're all so busy celebrating your own popularity. But would you really bother to go through all this trouble just for them?"

"Yes I would!" Mickey hissed, angry that Maleficent would talk about them like that in front of him. "But you still haven't answered what happened."

A smile spread across that dreadful proud expression. "Doesn't it surprise you Mickey? They just couldn't handle it any longer."

"What do you mean couldn't handle it?"

"Oh don't you get it Mickey?" Maleficent retorted. "They just couldn't stand the thought of how right everybody was when humans turned to point their accusing fingers at them. And they thought taking all their anger out on Eisner was going to change anything. But it hasn't. Yet you're all here wasting your time over for them to return?"

The lack of emotion in her speech was unsettling and distressing that it even sent shivers down upon the entire cast of Sleeping Beauty. They had all seen and known of the chaos that Maleficent was capable of creating ever since the opening of their movie.

Mickey's hands balled into fists. "I know what it is you're saying Maleficent. You knew about their unhappiness with themselves and you somehow filled their heads with lies so that they would march over here and make it seem that they were in league with you by making sure they were trying to get to Eisner. It all adds up!"

"Now don't be so difficult Mickey," Maleficent said hungrily, wagging her long finger. "After all, I was only showing them the truth of their existence."

"That's enough!" Mickey was fed up. "I'm not ashamed of anybody in my family! Nothing you say to them could ever be true."

"IS THAT SO?!" Maleficent spat, her eyebrows shot up as the orb from her staff shimmered ominously. "Then why don't you ask them." A portal from behind suddenly appeared behind the evil woman as she stepped aside to reveal Yzma, Rourke, Scroop, the space pirates, Alameda Slim, Rico and the Willies step out.

"YOU!" Mickey bellowed, eyes widening in disbelief. "What has Maleficent promised you guys?"

"Sorry Mickey, that information is classified!" Yzma said mockingly. "We're here to help finish what we started."

"Like our nemeses', we too didn't want to feel left out on all this," Rourke boasted.

"You all should have seen the look on Cabin Boy's face when I succeeded in telling him he was nothing," Scroop hissed with sickening pleasure. "Killing him would've been much easier, but watching him wallow in pain was much better."

Finally, Slim moved up to finish. "And don't be countin' on them dairy cows to come back anytime soon. Just as Scroop here mentioned, we managed to break their spirits so they'd have no courage to fight us or stand up for any o' you heroes. I doubt they'd wanna come back after all this. I reckon they're out alone in the world feelin' sorry for themselves. Wouldn't yah agree?"

"Those cows just couldn't handle it!" Rico jeered at Mickey.

"You're all going to pay for this!" Mickey shook with rage. "Starting with you Maleficent!"

Several of the heroes, through with listening to the villains make a mockery of the banished five, charged at the villains. Aladdin, Mulan, Hercules, and Taran had pulled out their swords. Quasimodo, Tarzan, and Simba, though armed with only their strength and courage were willing to take her down. Dumbo, Peter Pan, Elliot, Genie, Carpet, and Tinker Bell flew in opposite directions. But they were only halfway toward her by the time she finally spoke.

"Foolish mouse!" Maleficent bellowed. "Do you really think that you and your friends will defeat me that easily?" She pounded the stone ground with her staff, creating a huge shockwave from the point of impact. It sent the heroes and heroines flying backwards. "Allow us to prepare you all for the battle of your lives!"

The evil sorceress flung her arms upward in the air with both hands on her staff. Moving it in broad circles, many more dark portals opened everywhere in the park, revealing all the rest of the Disney villains, except for those who showed up in their usual way. Everyone from the Wicked Queen, the Coach Man, the pink elephants, the Headless Horseman, Lady Tremaine, the Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Cruella Deville, Madame Mim, Shera Khan, Kaa, Prince John, Madame Medusa, the Horned King, Ratigan, Sykes, Ursula, Gaston, Mcleach, Jafar, Oogie Boogie, Scar, Ratcliffe, Frollo, Hades, Shan Yu, Clayton, and all their minions gathered around the heroes and heroines in large numbers. The portals soon closed when there were no more villains left to step out.

"Sorry, we hate to interrupt your little protest," Jafar remarked with a tight, thin-lipped smile. "But we wouldn't want to miss out on all the fun…in finally being _rid_ of you miserable wretches once and for all!" The eyes of his snake staff began to glow.

"No, we won't allow it!" Aladdin shouted, holding his sword back. "There may be a lot of you, but we'll never back down!"

Every hero and heroine shouted in agreement. Even though characters such as The Black Cauldron cast, Quasimodo, Phil, Pegasus, Turk, Tarzan, Basil of Baker Street, and the whole Oliver & Company cast were in fear of their own banishment soon to come, that didn't stop them from not wanting to go down without a fight against the villains.

"THEN LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!" Maleficent cackled, waving her arms in the air at the crack of lightening.

"Yes!" Hades cried, his fist pumping into the air. "Time to get this party started!" His excitement left him bursting into flames.

Soon all the gathered Disney heroes and heroines charged forward at the villains, thus beginning the battle. Characters that couldn't fight, such as the princesses, Winnie the Pooh and friends were ordered to find a safe hiding spot. Mickey and friends quickly hid someplace where he needed to be in order to change into his sorcerer outfit. Without it, he would not be able to defeat Maleficent. He had hoped that the heroes were able to hold off the villains for as long as they could, even if he wasn't so sure.

Aladdin rode on Carpet with Genie by his side, dodging fireballs from Jafar's staff as they were determined to get closer to him for a strike with the sword. It all seemed to go well until a stroke from the staff transformed the carpet into a ball of yarn, causing Aladdin and Abu to fall off.

"Ha, not even your Genie can stop me now boy!" Jafar laughed, creating more fireballs to throw, in which Aladdin was able to dodge. "No other sorcerer in Agrabah can be as powerful as me!"

Even with all his phenomenal cosmic powers, Genie's magic seemed to have no effect on Jafar. But his magic was still enough for him to fend off as many sword thieves and minions to hopefully make the battle between Aladdin and Jafar less complicated for the rest of his buddies.

"I'm not afraid Jafar!" Aladdin shouted, lunging toward him. "If you're so powerful, fight me man to man!"

"With pleasure, street rat!"

Aladdin fought off more fireballs and bolts of lightening during his confrontation with Jafar. The evil sorcerer was not planning on making this easier on his nemesis anytime.

The fight between Hercules and Hades was no different than the one between Jafar and Aladdin. Riding atop of Pegasus, Hercules battled alongside with Aries, Hermes, Zeus, Athena, and all the other Greek Gods to conquer off the Hydra and the Titans that Hades had summoned. Some of them rode on chariots, armed with their most powerful weapons. One thing Hercules remembered wisely was to never slice off any of the heads or else it would just keep on multiplying with several more heads. With three heads, the least he could do was try to tangle them altogether. It was a risky move for him to take, especially with Pegasus. But the Hydra had to be stopped.

"You guys take on the Titans!" Hercules shouted to the Gods. "I'll handle the Hydra!"

He zoomed down, avoiding the snaps and bites from the monster's razor sharp jaws. The Hydra lunged at Hercules, but he dodged that move and drew his sword. He used all the skills that Phil had taught him to dodge every snap from the Hydra and keep it at bay.

"Careful Hercules," Phil coached from his hiding place behind piece of rubble. "Don't slice its head like last time! Stick it between the eyes!"

Hercules managed to do so with the head in the middle. It roared and shrieked in deafening pain, causing several of the Disney heroes to cover their ears. The head dropped to the ground in a deafening thud, leaving only two more heads to deal with.

By now, Mickey Mouse had on his sorcerer outfit, ready to deal with Maleficent who had been casting spells of dark orbs and bolts of lightening in between the fights. Luckily no one was seriously hurt as Mickey almost feared. With his powers, he blasted aside two Cauldron-born skeleton warriors whom Taran had been fighting with the magic sword. The young boy thanked him for this before resuming his battle with a few more undead warriors. He couldn't wait to use his sword on the Horned King.

"Now where could that ridiculous rodent have run off to?" The evil sorceress mocked. "I must've scared him off!"

"Here I am Maleficent!" Mickey announced. "This battle is between you and me!"

Maleficent used this opportunity to create a wave of deadly black, greenish orbs to hurtle them toward Mickey, which he blocked by creating an enchanted shield around him. The mouse that started it all created a few golden orbs of his own to toss at her, succeeded in knocking her off the ground. But it didn't last for long when Maleficent got back up in a rage and hovered in the air, casting more bolts of lightening from the sky.

While Mickey fought with the Mistress of evil, Donald and Goofy, not wanting to waste time watching, slipped into their Kingdom Hearts outfits as the magician and the captain, equipped with the Save the Queen and Save the King weapons. They were aware of the danger she was capable of, but the two friends were determined to back Mickey up if he was ever in trouble. They were his friends, and friends stick together to the end.

"Take that!" Donald screamed, casting a Fire spell on an evil tree.

"Get a load of this!" Goofy did his tornado spin, to knock off the smaller minions such as Pain and Panic, and Maleficent's goons.

* * *

With the battle going on, the villains from the Five's movies, having been granted powers from Maleficent, had been creating some mischief of their own in their world to test these skills before taking on the rest of the heroes in the real battle. Yzma had taken over Kuzco's kingdom with a commanding spell, transforming it into her own by replacing his face with hers on every royal object, enslaving his bodyguards to work without rest, including Kronk, Pacha and his family. Where could the real emperor have gone and how was Yzma able to overpower them like that?

Rourke had snatched up the Mother Crystal, the life force for Atlantis and the Atlanteans, leaving them weakened and down on their knees. Milo's friends, Dr. Sweet, Cookie, Vinny, Mole, Mrs. Packard, and Audrey tried to help out Kida with all their best equipment, but it was no use. Rourke's henchmen were not the least bit aggravated by their weapons and were captured with ropes around them. All of the crew, especially Kida, was led away by the thousands of troops. If only Milo were here to save them.

Scroop and the space pirates wreaked havoc and chaos on the planet Montressor, flying along other space ships with pirates and bandits, shooting cannons at the buildings. The citizens were left running in a panic as the pirates landed. Sara, Doppler, Amelia, B.E.N, Silver, and Morph stood frozen, staring out the window to find the many number of pirates terrorizing the poor villagers. Where they all came from was beyond their understanding. Just then, the door burst open with Scroop entering the inn leading the space pirates to overpower and capture Jim's friends. Silver would not allow it as he barged at the spider-like creature; ordering Sara, Doppler, B.E.N, and Amelia to find a safe hiding spot wherever it may be. Morph on the other hand zoomed out of the inn to go and find Jim anxiously. But he was nowhere to be found on Montressor.

Alameda Slim's yodeling across the countryside was more spellbinding than ever when he used the hypnotized cattle to wreck the banks filled with money. Another catastrophic situation was that none of the lawmen in Chugwater could put a stop to it with their lassos or guns. The cattle would either stampede after the folks at a fast pace, drag the cowpokes behind after being roped, or toss them at a far distance. After terrorizing the citizens in Chugwater, Slim, Rico, and the Willies headed toward Patch of Heaven for some quick vandalizing now that the girls were not there to stop them. With the hypnotized cattle following behind the outlaws at Slim's command, the farm animals were awakened and confused at the ground rumbling beneath their feet. Their eyes were soon wide in shock to find Slim and his goons arriving with a herd of colored, neon cattle coming at them. If it wasn't for this many enemies upon them, the farm animals would have had no trouble conquering Slim. But last time it had only been one enemy to fight. Now none of them were any match for the outlaws with the cattle chasing them around until they were out of energy. Pearl Gesner came out to see what the commotion was about, but was quickly seized by the Willies, and thrown down in the cellar to be locked up with farm tools. Ignoring her demands to be let out, Slim and Rico tore down the 1st prize ribbons, stomped them, dipped them in mud, and then allowed two spellbound cattle to chew each before spitting them out.

"I've always wanted to do that!" Slim let out a boastful laugh. "Our job here's done. We better get back to the fight."

Minutes later, the Patch of Heaven farm was left in a bad condition of smeared paint and mud on wood, windows, and inside Pearl's house where the glass frames of family pictures were broken in pieces. The exhausted, petrified animals could do nothing but stare heartbreakingly at how much the outlaws laid waste to their home. Going over to the cellar to try and free Pearl, they wondered if the girls would ever come home again.

* * *

Back at the battle, the fight with the villains was now becoming a real pain in the neck for the Disney heroes and heroines. The dragon form of Madame Mim breathed fire down on the ground in an attempt to roast Merlin who had been protecting Arthur and his pet owl. It felt like forever since he started battling against her and was starting to feel himself wear out. But he stubbornly refused to give up, and blasted her in the stomach with his wand, sending her rolling backwards like a ball. Mulan was down on her knees panting heavily after dropping her sword from battling Shan Yu. The Hun's face was twisted in triumphant glee to see how much he succeed in overpowering Mulan as he always dreamed of. Ursula had been knocking aside a couple of the heroes and allies with her tentacles as she pushed her way through to aim the trident, which she had stolen, at Ariel and her friends. Even the stronger, courageous heroes such as Peter Pan, Aladdin, Simba, Hercules, and Tarzan were showing signs of exhaustion and defeat at the hands of their enemies.

"Oh Daisy, this is terrible!" Minnie cried, clutching Daisy's arms. "The villains are overpowering the heroes!"

"They should be winning by now!" Daisy agreed. "But I don't understand how they're losing."

"You've lost part of your family Mickey!" Maleficent wailed, casting a green bolt of dark magic at Mickey. At this sudden move, the sorcerer's hat suddenly flew off Mickey's head. "Don't even think about it!" The light from her staff struck the mouse before he had a chance to pick it up, sending him flying backward against a tree. "Even if they returned, they'd be too late to save you and all your pathetic friends. Those fools would be no match against me!"

For a moment, Minnie frowned. What did she mean? Then it hit her. She had to hurry outside the park to find the banished heroes before the villains triumphed. And she finally understood exactly where they were.

**AN**: _Finally, the battle with the villains has already taken place. But will Minnie ever find the banished characters and be able to convince them to come back for everybody? Wait till the next chapter to find out. I hope this battle I wrote was convincing enough and not overdone. Sometimes when I'm having trouble, I ask a few of my friends for help. I would like to credit Yensid365 for her original idea on this battle and Danforth's Child for her advice and suggestions given. Sorry if the chapter title isn't underlined like it should be. No matter how many times I try, it just wouldn't underline._


	9. Setting Things Right

**Chapter 9: Setting Things Right**

"What's taking that boat so long?" Maggie moaned. "I'm already getting tired of waiting to leave this miserable excuse for a human world."

"Hang on, I think I see something coming," Milo carefully faced the foggy sea when he thought that his eyes caught some sort of huge ship. "That must be the boat."

"Well it's about time," Jim said, relieved to finally sit up after all those long minutes of waiting around.

The banished characters decided to wave in any way they could to get the ships attention. Sailing out of the grey fog, the ships appearance was that of a 17th century pirate ship, but more in the shape of a ghost ship. The characters felt a bit edgy and nervous as they stared at the torn billows above. Not only that, but it appeared that some mysterious black hooded stranger was in charge of the wheel. Was this a good idea to begin with in the first place? The silence and loneliness of these docks was dreadful enough to endure, even after their banishment. In fact, it seemed that it might have been a wise choice to go back and make friends with the other Disney characters. Then again, no one would believe them about the incident at the office, not even Mickey. All that would be waiting for them back there was more rejection and finger pointing. That set the banished five off thinking about staying away from humans and wanting to avoid the disappointed expressions of all the Disney characters once they find out what happened. Each of them settled in their minds what sort of other banished characters from long ago would be waiting for them at the Island of Forgotten Dreams. Perhaps once the banished five arrive, they'd be welcomed more respectfully than on the day of their birth. Perhaps this was also for the best.

"All aboard," the cloaked man murmured in a dark tone. "To the Island of Forgotten Dreams we shall go."

The Forgotten Five turned back to stare at the land in lonely spirits. This was it for them. Never again would any of them have to deal with ridiculous accusations and venomous attitudes from ungrateful humans who hate on them for the wrong reasons, when all the characters did was do as the artists and directors wanted them to do. Nobody understood how bad it was for the Forgotten Five to be living under the shadow of complete and utter failure.

"Come on you guys," Jim spoke, breaking the silence. "We can't keep the captain waiting. There's nothing for us here anyway."

In lower spirits, the five turned their backs to the land and trudged toward the ship, disheartened. Kenai still carried the sleeping Koda in his arms as he walked on.

What the Forgotten Five didn't know was that Minnie Mouse had already been riding in a yellow taxi cab, due to her having the feeling of where the five would be located at. She was proven correct as soon as she spotted the five preparing to leave in an enormous ship for a nonstop voyage to the Island of Forgotten Dreams, never to return to the human world again. Anxiety filled Minnie the moment after she hopped out of the taxi and hurried down to the docks as fast as she could go.

"Wait, don't go!" she shouted. "Don't get on that boat!"

Surprised by the familiar sweet voice, the banished five turned around and saw Minnie Mouse running straight toward them hysterically. What could she possibly want from them anyway when all they did was let Mickey down with their failure?

"Hey Minnie, come to wish us bon voyage before we leave?" Kuzco asked. "That would be a nice thing."

"WHAT?! No, that's not why I'm here!" Minnie shouted in outrage. "I've come all this way to stop you all from making a big mistake!"

"Oh really, and what mistake would that be?" Mrs. Calloway stared at Minnie with a displeased frown. "It's bad enough we're different from everyone else. We're only doing those humans a favor."

"You're doing the villains a favor," Minnie said, shaking her head. "Don't you understand that?"

Maggie laughed, unconvinced by these words and sick of being lied to by everyone. Then she spoke angrily. "Oh now we're doing the villains a favor, are we? Well let me tell you something sweetheart, we're done dealing with humans. So how do you think going back there to save the day is going to make any of us more acceptable? It's all because of Michael Eisner's handling of us that we are not loved by anybody. And if any of those stupid heads over at the studio had cared for us in the first place, we wouldn't be here ready to leave for good. And another thing, does this look hero material to you?" she held out her right front leg for Minnie to examine her hoof. "Who are we kidding? We're not heroes. We're nobodies. So long!"

Maggie turned to march toward the ship with the other two following behind. Never did she bother to look back and allow Minnie to see the bitter unshed tears attempting to come out of her stinging eyes. Jim, Milo, Kuzco, and Kenai followed her lead, not wanting to keep the boatman waiting any longer. Even they would rather not return to a life where people treated them as if their movies served no purpose but to be ignored.

"You're not _nobodies_!" Minnie cried. "Please just listen to me. Mickey Mouse is in terrible danger."

That was when the toons stopped in their tracks and turned slowly to face Minnie, except the cows that just stood still with Maggie's right front hoof on the rail.

"Danger, what do you mean in danger?" Milo asked.

"I mean Mickey is over there with the other heroes battling against the villains even as we speak," Minnie replied. "He stood up for you after he found out what Michael did. And so did the other characters. Are you still gonna leave, after what I told you? Don't you even care that Maleficent is about to overpower the heroes?"

Jim was stunned. "Wait a minute, Maleficent? Who's she?"

The Forgotten Five were never told of Maleficent, due to their lack and refusal of attending fun events at the House of Mouse. Not even the coworkers at the studio cared enough to tell them about her.

"She's the mistress of all evil," Minnie replied. "And she's the one who set you all up to attack Michael by filling your heads with lies about yourselves. She has a way of weakening people by lying to break their spirits. Even your own enemies are in league with her."

"What?!" Maggie finally glanced over her shoulder.

"That's right. All your enemies are helping Maleficent to try and overthrow Mickey. Don't you understand that this is what the villains want you to do? If you quit and leave, the villains win. Not only that, but I bet your own families are already wondering where you are at this moment. And what about those other fans of yours?"

That was when the banished five suddenly had their eyes widened in realization to what Minnie said.

"You may think that no one loves you, but that's not true," Minnie choked. "If it's not too hard to ask, can you all find it in yourselves to put aside your bad feelings against Michael just this once and do what's right…for Mickey?"

The characters' eyes shied away to the ground in shame and doubt. How could they take another chance in a world that treated them differently? Surely the more popular heroes could stand a better chance against the villains then they ever could. Then again, what were they doing here anyway?

* * *

_Back at the Magic Kingdom_

"Give up yet Mickey!" Maleficent taunted.

"Never!" Mickey replied stubbornly, who was now lying with his head faced on the cement ground. The mouse breathed deeply from exhaustion while fighting to regain his balance. Even he himself couldn't understand how the evil sorceress wasn't going down already like she should have been the last time he battled with her. Still he refused to go down easily.

"But Mickey, we can't stop her!" Goofy cried, defending Mickey with Donald at his side. "She's too powerful!"

"I don't know how much longer we can hold her off!" Donald added, keeping a firm grip on his wizard staff. "Even the heroes have their own problems with their enemies!"

"Keep trying, we can't give up now!" Mickey said with determination. "Remember what we're fighting for?"

"What a stubborn mouse you are Mickey!" Maleficent said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "If that is your decision, I suppose I'll have to finish you off the easy way!"

With one wave of her right arm, Maleficent had used a swift spell to throw Donald and Goofy aside in order to keep this battle between her and Mickey. And to keep anyone from interfering, she used her dark magic to create an invisible barrier around them. Mickey's two pals stared helplessly as they watched their troubled friend possibly in danger of being defeated without any backup.

By this time, most of the heroes and heroines were losing their strength in fighting off the villains. Captain Hook now had his long sword pointed at Peter Pan's throat after successfully knocking the dagger out of his hand at the end of the duel. The pirates managed to imprison Tinker Bell in a lantern to prevent her from helping Peter any further. Then Hook whispered "there's no such thing as fairies" to weaken her powers as her glow started flickering and fading. Then he ordered the pirates to take Pan back to his ship along with the Lost Boys, Wendy, John, and Michael as their prisoners.

Jafar had somehow successfully trapped Jasmine inside a giant hourglass with the sand spilling slowly onto her from the hole of the upper chamber. Despite feeling a bit worn out from fighting, Aladdin lunged out at the vizier with his sword in the air, hoping to strike at him. But out of luck, he missed the moment before Jafar vanished and reappeared behind to knock him out with his snake staff. Genie had been unable to help out since Jafar had him trapped inside an enchanted crystal ball that could only be broken if someone crashed it to the ground.

"Sorry Al," Genie said sadly as he stared helplessly. "I gave everything my best shot."

The battle between the heroes and villains was apparently getting hectic and nearly out of hand. With the remaining heroes and heroines such as Mulan, Tarzan, Hercules, Merlin, canine and feline characters, Beast, Quasimodo, John Smith, Simba, and Stitch, they and their sidekicks were able to hold off Shan Yu, Clayton, Hades, the Titans, Madame Mim, Sykes, and Frollo off as long as possible. But with the other enemies that have not yet fallen, who knows how long they would be able to keep it up.

* * *

Meanwhile on the outside of the gates, nobody was aware of Minnie secretly leading the banished five back to the Magic Kingdom as the group crossed the highway safely, but not before being followed by almost hundreds of young people either asking for the characters' autographs or to have a picture with them. By the excited and cheerful looks of these people, they appeared to be fans of the fives' movies. Wondering how these fans ever saw her and the banished five coming, Minnie reckoned that the battle inside the park must have awakened them all the way from their houses, hotel and apartment rooms. Although Minnie was glad of these fans' approval and appreciation for the five, she knew that there was not enough time for picture taking and autographs.

"Sorry everybody, but we're in a hurry to save our kingdom!" Minnie shouted politely to the shouting crowds from behind. "You'll have to wait till later! There's no time."

"What, not even for a close snapshot of my dazzling smile?" Kuzco joked as he used his usual emperor smile to please the ladies. "You wonderful ladies are more than welcome to take my picture." The next thing that happened were lights flashing and snapshots clicking which only lasted for five seconds until Jim grabbed hold of Kuzco's left wrist.

"Come on Kuzco, stop fooling around," he scolded. "There'll be plenty of time for this after we defeat our nemeses."

"Aw I was just starting to love this moment of gratitude," Kuzco moaned while Jim still kept pulling him along. But he still had to admit to himself that he needed to put a stop to whatever scheme Yzma was doing to both his kingdom and his friends.

The crowd of fans followed the group as if they were an idolized gang of famous singers, screaming for their names, autographs, and pictures, despite listening to Minnie's words. The shouts and praises ringing among the fives' ears almost brought tears of joy to their eyes when they finally realized what important matters they would have missed out on if they got on that boat and never returned. Minnie was right. There were people that did care about them after all. What joy would the five have gotten from on the Island of Forgotten Dreams? All that would have been waiting for them was more misery, disappointment, sadness, and all other negative feelings from the cries and sorrows of other banished toons. What good was that?

"In here," Minnie pointed to a hidden door behind the park walls. "Quickly, we don't have much time."

The five dashed hastily in the alleyway and quickly entered after her before the crowd caught up to them. It didn't take too long for them to find their way back inside the park where the group was able to witness the epic battle between the heroes and villains. By the looks of it, things were still growing from bad to worst for the heroes fighting for too long and on the verge of unexplainably losing their strength. The cows winced at the sight of Jafar in the form of a giant cobra snap at the heels of Aladdin, refusing to give in when Jasmine, Genie, and all his friends were in peril.

"This wasn't my idea of returning to face this many dangerous enemies with all their magic and mayhem," Grace whimpered fearfully. "We're sure to get creamed in seconds."

"Yeah, I mean how are we even supposed to get by without being seen or getting killed?" Kuzco questioned.

"Simple, return to your worlds and gather as much allies as you all can," Minnie affirmed. "It would do no good getting involved in this battle without them. Plus, you're the only ones who can stop your own enemies."

"What about Mickey?" Jim asked. "He must know we're here."

"Leave that to me," she replied, smiling. "Now hurry and don't let anything stop you."

The five agreed to this and watched as Minnie left to try and get to her husband, still fighting Maleficent. There was no doubt that the mouse and his friends were possibly in this battle because of them. And they were thinking of leaving while their friends' lives were in danger?

"So it seems Mickey did this for us, didn't he?" Kenai asked. "What were we thinking?"

Before anyone else could answer, a familiar shout brought their attention over to the outside of the front opening gates. The same crowd had followed them all the way here and were watching the battle screaming and shouting for the five to give the villains what they got. Watching them from afar, the five could suddenly feel their broken spirits being repaired by the feelings of love, care, and total appreciation; something they hadn't felt ever since the start to save this dear company. Standing up courageously, the five now knew what they needed to do.

"Come on guys, this is no time to get emotional," Milo piped up. "We gotta go gather all our friends."

"Right," Jim agreed.

Soon all the rest of their sad feelings left them as the five avoided getting spotted from the villains by jumping and hiding from bush to building while making their way to Main Street and to catch the train back to Toon Town. None of them even cared how hard this battle might be anymore; not even the cows. They were ready to fight and help the mouse that started it all.

**AN**: _Sorry for the long update. I had writers' block. I'm not even sure if I did such a good job with this chapter. I know it's not much, but this update is to show that I still don't plan on leaving this story in the dust anytime soon, no matter how much trouble I have with how the battle should end. I'm still having some complications, but feel free to give me some tips and suggestions in reviews. I strongly hope that the next chapter I write will be better. I'll try my hardest to make it more believable._


	10. Forces Uniting

**Chapter 10: Forces Uniting**

"BRING ME SOME MORE WINE AND MOVE THAT STATUE OVER THERE!" Yzma hollered from Kuzco's stolen throne.

"Right away your majesty," the guard panted, running out of the throne room.

Yzma leaned back in the chair patiently to relax while two guards slowly waved large feathers above her head. Now this was exactly how she pictured herself as ruler, after all those years living under Kuzco's shadow as the advisor. With him out of the way and no more spirit left within him, his palace was now hers as she always dreamed of. Soon the guard arrived with her second glass and extra bottle of the red wine she demanded. Yzma watched with pleasure as a few villagers and guards kept on slaving away to keep remodeling this kingdom to replace Kuzco's face with hers on every object.

"Now that I'm the new ruler here, I think I'm gonna enjoy every moment of this until the end," Yzma boasted, taking a sip of her wine. In her other hand she had been swinging some sort of dark crystal tied in a leathery string.

Meanwhile within the hidden chambers underneath the palace, Kuzco managed to sneak his way in without anyone seeing him, in case a guard might report this to Yzma. He most certainly didn't want to risk being spotted too soon or else it might have made this situation more complicated than it seemed.

"If Yzma thinks she can take over my palace like this, oh then she's messing with the wrong guy," Kuzco muttered confidently to himself as he made his way up the chamber stairs. "I'll show her who the real ruler is. I'm the real emperor, not her. Uh, uh, no way. Ain't gonna happen while I'm still alive…I hope."

His tone had turned from courageous to nervous when he uttered those two last words. But he was not about to let that or anything else talk him out of saving his friends. He had to do what was right, even if it meant risking his life to stop Yzma, no matter what type of power she possessed to force his people to slave for her. By the time Kuzco reached the top of the secret stairs, he was just about ready to pull on the secret switch before hearing a familiar croaking voice behind the stone floor above.

"I wonder how Maleficent is dealing with Mickey at this very moment." Kuzco recognized that voice as none other than Yzma. "Maybe I should thank her for this dark crystal she gave me to control everyone."

Kuzco's ears perked up when she mentioned something about a dark crystal. Unless he was mistaken, that must be what's causing his people to obey her against their will. Only problem was, how was he to ever get close to Yzma without getting himself caught under that spell if she tried using it against him? Waiting until she fell asleep would not have been a smart option. He needed to bring reinforcements as soon as possible or else it might have been too late.

"Eh that can wait until she's done. Now to check and see how my slaves are doing."

Kuzco waited for a few seconds to listen carefully to the footsteps as they disappeared to wherever she had gone. Then he pulled on the lever and whispered to someone who had been following him the whole time.

"Come on, it sounds like the coast is clear."

The stone ceiling above him opened up for him and the other companion to crawl out and take a look at their surroundings. Kuzco cringed at the sight of how tacky and awful the designs appeared in every direction.

"Ugh, talk about bad taste in style," he said sarcastically for a moment. Then he remembered the mission. "Uh anyway, here's what we should do."

Minutes later Yzma returned to the throne to relax. Just when she thought she'd be having a peaceful moment all to herself, a deep voice broke the silence.

"YZMA!"

"AAGGH!" Yzma gasped, sitting up from the seat. "Who's in here? Show yourself!"

"I cannot, for I am the spirit of a long forgotten emperor," the voice rumbled. "And I am not happy with what you have done to take the throne from another! Am I right?"

Yzma remained silent for a moment, feeling more suspicious than scared as she should have been. She sensed that something fishy was going on and decided to play her own little game with this so-called ghost voice.

"Then tell me something long forgotten emperor," she said icily. "Why else have you returned here other than trying to haunt me?"

"I…uh…as I mentioned before, I have been watching you all this time, how you and your lackey tried to poison me…uh I mean the emperor…the emperor all so you could have the throne all to yourself and…"

"OH ENOUGH ALREADY!" Yzma exploded. "So I tried to overthrow an ungrateful, wretched excuse for an emperor, so what? He never deserved to be ruler anyway." Then her voice turned calm as she maintained mockingly. "And even if he dared to return here, what makes him think that he can stop me when I possess extreme power over all his people? He's a spoiled, ungrateful little worm who grew up with no real friends and no loving parents to hold him or tuck him in at night."

The ghostly voice turned silent at that.

"No response for that huh," said Yzma, turning her head up to take an interest in a familiar foot hiding above the colorful cloaks. It couldn't be who she thought it was, but she went on. "And why do you think he had not a friend in the world?"

"Uh…well because…" the ghost voice was losing its grim eeriness.

"I'll tell you why that is, as I mentioned before, he was nothing more than an arrogant, pampered palace brat so full of himself which explained why none of the other children would ever consider playing with him."

The ghostly voice was silent again as if it was stung by those hurtful words.

"Aw, what's wrong," she cooed mockingly up at the ceiling of curtains. "Did I hurt the poor spirit's feelings?" Her right hand had slowly touched a holder where the ends of the curtains were tied. "Or should I say…" that was when she untied the knot to watch and hear the yelp from someone's voice as he came crashing down on the floor, holding a large shell in his hand that he used to imitate the ghostly voice. "…Kuzco!"

"Ow!" Kuzco moaned from the painful fall. "That really hurts."

"Really, does this hurt?"

"Huh?"

The next thing that happened in an instant was Kuzco seeing himself engulfed in pink smoke. He had not seen that Yzma had thrown the same pink formula that Kronk had accidentally used last time that transformed him into a llama.

"AAAHHHH! I'm a llama again!"

"And now you're about to be incinerated!"

_Uh-oh, time to move on to Plan B_. Kuzco thought anxiously as he watched Yzma pull out the dark crystal. "CANNONBALL!"

"Cannonball?" Yzma was puzzled.

CRASH!

She had never looked up in time to see a huge shadow loom above and come crashing down on top of her. It was Mrs. Calloway!

"Thanks, thought I was a goner," he said.

"Really, and you said you had it under control the whole time," Mrs. C teased, still sitting on top of Yzma.

"He he, well you never know in case the plan backfires," Kuzco admitted. "Nothing wrong with a little backup. Well let's go save my friends."

"In that form?" Mrs. C was referring to his llama transformation.

"No time to worry, we gotta get reinforcements. Come on." Kuzco burst out the doors hastily.

To avoid interference, Mrs. Calloway stomped on the dark crystal with all her strength, breaking it into bits and pieces. Then she quickly left the throne room to help Kuzco before Yzma regained consciousness.

* * *

Down in the city of Atlantis, Milo Thatch was able to make it back in time first by taking a sub pod in the ocean and flying through the caverns on the flying stone fish. He was both stunned and furious to find that Rourke and his troops were holding Kida and the crew captive and preparing to leave with the Mother Crystal. The genius had taken them by surprise with the blue energy blasts, powerful enough to destroy the pod the crystal was held in and knock the weapons out of Rourke's troops. He had been full of the same anger and determination within him that helped to save Princess Kida and Atlantis. Now he was going to use them to save Mickey and the others from an untimely defeat at the hands of the villains. He refused to let any negative feeling stop him from doing the right thing.

"Over here Rourke!" Milo shouted from above on the stone fish. "Catch me if you can!"

"Hold still you fool!" Rourke demanded, holding his own dark crystal up in the air to try and blast Milo out of the stone fish with its dark blast.

So far Milo managed to avoid each blast as he got closer to Rourke and somehow snatched the dark crystal out of his grip and used the flying fish to throw him against a stone pillar to knock him out while he made the move to untie the crew, including Kida.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys again," Milo said as he untied Cookie. "Come on, we gotta get back to the surface to help Mickey."

"But Milo, where have you been this whole time?" Audrey questioned.

"I'll tell you all about that later. Gather as many equipment as you all can and make sure you have your crystals. Hurry, we might not have much time."

* * *

Jim Hawkins sailed back to Montressor on his solar surfboard to help out Captain Amelia, Doppler, Morph, B.E.N., and Silver who were doing their best to fight back against the space pirates on the _RLS Legacy_. So far, they managed to drive off at least twelve dozen pirate ships. But when Scroop and his men refused to back down, even knowing that they could no longer overpower them, his last words were "See you back at Tomorrow Land" before his ship blasted off. Jim knew he and his crew had to get back to Disneyland right away to help the rest of the heroes and somehow get that black crystal away from Scroop before he caused any further damage.

Although there had been no villain in Brother Bear, Kenai and Koda had gathered all the bears at the salmon run, fetched Rutt and Took, and the villagers to fight alongside the animal heroes in Adventure Land and Frontier Land. They figured that Bambi, Bagheerah, Baloo, King Louie, Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, and all the rest of the canine and feline heroes would need a helping hand against Shera Kahn, Kaa, Scar, the hyenas, and the rest of the animal villains.

For the cows, Maggie and Grace had returned to Chugwater hoping that they were able to handle things, even if Mrs. Calloway wasn't with them. But to their surprise, Alameda Slim wasn't anywhere to be found and staring at the damage on Patch of Heaven was heartbreaking and upsetting enough to shatter their hearts. Yet there was still the job to do of gathering allies such as Buck, Lucky Jack, and a herd of cattle that was lucky enough to not fall under Slim's yodeling spell. When asked where Slim ran off to, none of their friends knew other than about him returning to the park. But the girls reckoned that there was one place more likely where Slim and his goons could be. And their guess was Frontier Land.

Meanwhile at the Magic Kingdom, the battle against the villains was growing more intense for the heroes and heroines almost every minute. Tarzan, Aladdin, Mulan, Simba, Robin Hood, Little John, Quasimodo, Prince Phillip, and John Smith were losing their strength, unable to handle things any longer. When this happened, the heroes were left crawling helplessly on the ground, still refusing to believe that they would ever be defeated at the hands of their enemies. How could this happen to them? They were always able to handle the villains well in the end before. Why weren't they going down?

"Let Jasmine go…Jafar!" Aladdin panted, struggling to get up and save Jasmine. The sand inside the hourglass had now reached up to her waist. "I'm not finished with you yet." An intense pain inside his ribs brought him back down on his knees.

"Sorry street rat, I don't have anymore time to waste hearing you beg for your princess to be spared," Jafar mocked, tapping the hour glass with his staff. "I've won, so just admit that you're far too weak to fight me any longer!"

Aladdin tried once more to get up. But the more he moved, the greater the pain became, which proved too much.

"That's what I thought. So long street rat. I've got some other business to deal with somewhere. I'll be taking your genie with me if you don't mind."

He watched the royal vizier float away carrying the captive genie in the enchanted crystal ball. The only thing for now on his mind was crawling toward as quickly as possible to crack open the hour glass before finding another way to stop Jafar.

On the other side of the park, Prince John had his rhino guards capture Robin Hood, Little John, and all his merry men in ropes to lead them back to Nottingham to be locked in his dungeon. Frollo had Esmeralda tied to a stake in preparation for execution while his guards kept the gypsies, Djali, and Phoebus locked in cages to watch helplessly. Quasimodo, having no more strength to fight had been restrained in chains between two pillars. Maleficent's goons had captured Prince Phillip with ropes and were ordered to take him back to her lair. The Wicked Queen had enchanted Snow White in the sleeping death in the hopes of imprisoning the prince and the seven dwarves in her dark castle. The same could be said for Aurora, also cursed up in the same tower along with her people. Madame Medusa had captured Bernard and Bianca in a small cage to take to her swamp where her two crocodile pets awaited for a nice snack. Stromboli had imprisoned Pinocchio in a wooden cage inside his wagon while the wicked coachman was determined to take away the donkeys on his ship to sell for a fortune. Mcleach had captured many wild animals big and small in cages and the strongest nets over in Adventure Land, including Tod, Copper, Big Mama, Dinky and Boomer, and the whole gang from Winnie the Pooh before loading them onto his truck. The Headless Horseman had been chasing Ichabod Crane through the dark forest on his black steed, determined to go for the victim's head. The whole cast of Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, Aristocats, and Oliver and Company were left either running for their lives or being captured by Cruella Deville, Edgar, and Sykes. There were too many enemies for them to fight beyond their understanding. The Horned King had Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam, Gurgi, and Hen Wen captured by his guards as the Cauldron Born were wandering amongst the park in the hopes of overpowering whatever heroes and allies were left. Professor Ratigan had Basil of Baker Street and Dr. Dawson tied to a mouse trap where other deadly weapons awaited to finish them off at the end of the song. Even the Reluctant Dragon and Elliot were beginning to lose their fire breathing attack from using it for too long. Who knew how long this battle would last and how the villains can ever be defeated.

The villains were about to realize that their long awaited victory was soon to come to a halt. Before any of them could finish off the heroes and heroines, a few blue blasts from out of nowhere had knocked them off the ground along with their powerful weapons. Everyone stared up at the nighttime sky to witness the oncoming approach of numerous Atlanteans riding stop their flying stone fishes with Milo and his crew leading the way. Also flying next to them was the _RLS Legacy_ ready to fire their cannons and rifles. The villains couldn't believe their eyes when they discovered that the banished five had suddenly returned and were ready to save the day.

"NO IT CAN'T BE!" Hades barked. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE BANISHED!"

"GUESS AGAIN HOT HEAD!" Milo retorted as he swooped down below right passed the God of the Underworld to shoot into the eyes of the Titans, allowing Hercules to take care of the rest.

"LET US FREE THE PRISONERS!" Kida ordered.

She and the crew swooped down among the villains to break open the cages and release the binds off of the captured characters, allowing them to fight once again.

"WILL SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING?!" Hades yelped, bursting into red flames.

The Ice Titan being the only one not blinded by the blue blast from Milo had blown his ice breath toward the sky, causing icicles to multiply. The Atlanteans successfully avoided these blasts and aimed their blue lasers toward the Ice Titan, driving him backward for Hercules to deal with. Their planned mission was to help out the fallen heroes who had lost their strength in battle and heal them with their crystals while still fighting off the enemies. The _RLS Legacy_ fired off at the Cauldron Born making the job of fighting easier for Taran who was lucky not too feel too exhausted. Basil of Baker Street was finally able to lead Ratigan in a showdown above a clock tower using his wits. The Greek Gods had gained the strength to defeat the Titans and free Zeus from his rock prison. He then conjured up fresh lightening bolts at Maleficent's goons, sending them running off in a panic. Being as stupid as they were, Hercules had finally grabbed hold of the Wind Titan to vacuum the rest of the Titans before they caused more damage. Then the son of Zeus whirled them around like a lasso to hurl them out into space in a big explosion. That takes care of them for now. Now there was Hades to deal with, who had apparently taken Meg captive, bound in smoky chains.

Kida pointed over to the midst of Main Street. "WE GOT TO HELP EVERYONE! HALF OF YOU GO THAT WAY! THE REST OF YOU FOLLOW ME!"

The Atlanteans fanned out in every direction to save the fallen heroes. By the power of their crystals, the painful wounds had healed up as if they were never there before. Jasmine was set free from the hour glass by the time Aladdin regained the strength to move again. The other revived heroes that had no time to celebrate thanked the Atlanteans for the recovery and allowed them to fight alongside to stop the villains.

The _RLS Legacy_ hovered high above Tomorrow Land in a showdown against the aliens and space pirates where Scroop had continued his treachery. Needless to say, Captain Amelia, Doppler, Morph, and Silver were able to overpower them aboard after Jim finally snatched away the dark crystal from Scroop on his surfboard. The hardest part had been attempting for him to get closer to the spider-like creature while dodging every blast and shot from the pirates' weapons. But he succeeded in the end.

The jungles of Adventure Land were overrun with deadly snakes, venomous spiders, booby traps inside the temples, and other dangerous animals prowling the areas, battling their own enemies long enough to hopefully tire them out. Yet most of them refused to back down, even when it seemed like all was lost. Then coming out of nowhere, a pack of bears, mammoths, and moose were heading toward them in a stampede. Kenai and Koda had been leading the way. With their help in the battle against the villains, the animal heroes were able to stand a better chance without any worry of losing their fighting strength. The bears had given Simba and his friends a helping hand with the hyenas. Throughout the fighting, lightening flashed, and parts of the dry areas below turned into a sea of flames.

In Frontier Land, the cows found Alameda Slim standing atop the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction, commanding the bewitched cattle to attack. For the girls, the attempt to snatch that dark crystal from his neck was extremely difficult with all these hypnotized cattle either pushing them back, charging at them, or head butting them in the side, causing the girls a few minor injuries. As if that wasn't bad enough, Frontier Land was scattered with dangerous coyotes, cougars, vultures, evil spirits from Indian tales, and needle shooting cactus. But despite the tough challenge, they refused to quit too soon as they dodged and kicked back while making their way up to the attraction.

* * *

"And now for the final blow!" Maleficent bellowed in triumph. "Say goodbye Mickey!"

Before she could cast another deadly blast from her evil staff, her pet raven Diablo flapped next to her head, uttering something that only she could understand. A look of shock and anger crossed her face.

"NO!" she howled. "IT CANNOT BE!" The evil sorceress waved her staff and transformed herself into energy of swirling black magic as she transported over to the midst of the park, leaving an exhausted Mickey Mouse where he was.

Mickey didn't stay down for long as soon as Kida came forward on her stone fish and hopped off to heal him with her crystal. It did the trick as she watched him able to stand up on his feet again, ready to do battle again. He thought his tired eyes were deceiving him when he took one look at who had come to his aid.

"You...you came back?" Mickey said happily.

"We all came back," Kida told him.

This time Kida gladly gave him a ride back inside the park where he was prepared to defeat Maleficent in the final showdown to save his entire family.

**AN**: _Well it looks like the final showdown between Mickey and Maleficent is on the way. Sorry to rush some things a bit, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything slowing the story down as I wrote this chapter. Now that Maleficent knows that the Forgotten Five have returned, how will they be able to handle it? I'm not sure how long it will take me to get the next chapter up, but hopefully not too long. I want to make sure it's believable enough. Feel free to give me some ideas in a review if you want. Let's hope that Mickey will make it back in time to stop Maleficent from hurting any members of his family._


	11. The Final Showdown part I

**Chapter 11: The Final Showdown part I**

By then, the once fallen heroes being back on their feet were able to conquer and defeat their own enemies. Aladdin succeeded in freeing the genie from Jafar, trapping the sorcerer in a black magic lamp.

"NNOOOO!" Jafar screamed with anguish as he became a trail of vapor that disappeared into the lamps spout.

"Al, you did it!" Genie laughed for joy. "I'll take it from here." He took the lamp and flew up to the starry sky to hurl the object and send it to the farthest end of the desert oasis. "That takes care of him. Now to take care these guys!" He flew back down to help Aladdin fight off the rest of the remaining enemies.

The entire cast of Great Mouse Detective, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, Aristocats, Oliver and Company, and The Rescuers no longer had trouble conquering Madame Medusa, Cruella Deville, Edgar, Sykes, Ratigan, or the two gators with the same wits they used before. Robin Hood and his merry men led the citizens of Nottingham to safety after driving off the rhino guards and sending Prince John off into hiding. Mulan and her companions fought with Shan Yu and the Huns on top of a Chinese building. With the help of Mushu, he flew in with the largest rocket and waited for Mulan to give the signal for him to light the fuse. Stabbing the sword through Shan Yu's tunic to pin him down, she vaulted out of the way as the rocket came hurtling toward him at a fast speed. The Hun leader let out a scream of terror as it smashed into him and carried him far over to where all fireworks are kept securely in one of the towers. The warriors watched as a towering massive fireball erupted, fireworks showering the night sky.

While the rest of the heroes were still busy fighting off the rest of the villains, things over at Frontier Land were mighty hectic with Alameda Slim still in possession of the last dark crystal. The girls had unfortunately underestimated Slim when they thought they could handle him quite well like last time. If it weren't for the large amount of spellbound cattle charging and tossing them around, at least one of them might have already caught up to Slim.

"OUTTA MY WAY YOU CATTLE THUGS!" Maggie snapped, shoving one bull to the side as he struggled to make her way to the attraction. "I SAID OUTTA MY WAY!" Two more bulls were charged aside as she used her head. These hypnotized cattle might have been strong and muscular, but Maggie was still just as strong as any of them.

"YAH, TAKE THAT AND THAT!" Buck cried out as he fought with a whole bunch of coyotes and bulls.

"HELLO ANYONE, I COULD USE A LITTLE HELP WITH THIS BIG GUY!" Mrs. Calloway grunted, trying hard to push back a green colored bull who was attempting to ram her. She wasn't so sure if Maggie, Grace, or Buck was able to hear her cries.

Out of nowhere, a buffalo by the name of Junior pounced upon the bull who dared to hurt the one cow he had a soft spot for.

"HAVE NO FEAR LITTLE LADY, JUNIOR IS HERE TO SAVE YOU!" Junior smiled as he continued defending Mrs. Calloway from as many hypnotized cattle as he could. "NOBODY HURTS MY WOMAN!"

Mrs. C blushed warmly when he said this and stayed on his side to fight off more oncoming coyotes and spellbound cattle.

"GUYS PLEASE, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Grace pleaded among the crowd of colored cattle. "I DON'T WANNA FIGHT…UGH!"

Before Grace knew it, an orange, neon colored bull unexpectedly charged into her side powerful enough to knock her off the ground and sent her flying toward the towering buttes of the attraction, screaming in terror. Then she had felt the solid stone before she saw it and tumbled down the small hill, close to the lake. Her flight ended abruptly when she struck the cold rock. Her whole body was in searing agony from the impact that might have possibly caused her ribs to break, even though Grace wasn't too sure if they were truly broken. But just as Grace feared, she found she could not move a muscle. If she tried, it would result in more fiery pain. Grace flinched when her heart convulsed painfully inside her injured ribs. She could only lie there in pain; hoping that someone would find her soon enough. Her voice was too weak to call for help in a loud tone.

Her other two bovine friends were mute with shock at what they seen. That set them off to give them more fierce determination to help out Grace and snap that dark crystal away from Slim, even at the cost of their own lives.

Alameda Slim looked down from the tallest butte to stare in satisfaction of the injured form of Grace lying near the lake.

"Perfect, now that one o' them bovines is outta the way, time to end this fight with a yodelin' tune," he sneered, gripping the dark crystal tightly.

Since Slim found out that Grace could never fall under his hypnotic yodeling tune, it would still be a sadistic pleasure for him to have the blond heifer watching helplessly as her friends fall victim to his spell the same way with these other neon cattle.

"YODEL-AADLE-EEDLE-OO!" Slim sang loudly.

Nobody saw the dark crystal shimmer its sinister light. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway had made to the entrance of the mining trains until they suddenly stopped with crazy looks in their eyes. But before he had a chance to continue any further, a gray furry long-eared critter pounced at Slim's head, causing him to lose his balance and slide down the butte.

"GET THIS FURRY BEAST OFF O' ME!" Slim wailed, trying to take the animal off his head. "GET OFF ME YAH VERMIN!"

The furry vermin turned out to be Lucky Jack who had somehow made his way to the top of the butte without Slim knowing. With one quick bite, he snapped the leathery string and removed the crystal off the outlaw's neck.

"HEY GIRLS, CATCH!" Lucky Jack threw the crystal down to the girls' location, knocking them into consciousness.

Rather than ask what happened, Maggie spied the crystal next to her feet and heard Slim cry out fearfully.

"NO, NOT THE CRYSTAL! I NEED THAT!"

"Now Maggie!" Mrs. C ordered.

With all her strength, Maggie brought her foot down on the crystal, shattering the evil device into a dozen broken pieces.

Slim watched in shock and horror to find what the cow had done to make him lose his power. The cattle were returning to normal, losing their neon colors and looked around in confusion.

"Huh, what happened?" one of them asked.

"UH…THIS AIN'T OVER YET COWS!" Slim shouted from the lower part of the buttes. "DON'T THINK YOU'VE HEARD THE LAST OF ALAMEDA SLIM!"

Disappearing out of sight, the girls were about to go after him until a sliver of dark, swirling energy in the sky twisted open above the Rivers of America. Milo Thatch, Jim Hawkins, and the rest of their sidekicks who had recently arrived to give the girls a helping hand, witnessed the same sight they did. Maleficent instantly appeared standing above the very set where the show for Fantasmic was displayed. Green flames engulfed her. A gust of bitter wind swept across Frontier Land, causing the Atlanteans and the _RLS_ _Legacy_ to lose control and be pushed back. Only Jim, Milo, and a few other remaining warriors were able to hold on tight to resist the force.

Kida arrived with Mickey in the nick of time to witness the characters struggling. To Mickey, it seemed that Maleficent was challenging every one of them to come forward and face her. The evil sorceress let out a throaty chuckle as lightening cracked from the sky, creating thorny briars rising out of the lake and the ground like slithering snakes. The Atlanteans fired their blue blasts at the thorns, destroying a few before the sharp needles could touch anybody.

"KEEP FIRING!" Milo commanded. "WE CAN'T LET THOSE THORNS OUT OF THE GROUND!"

Mickey was about to ask for Kida to lead him closer to Maleficent until he turned his head to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction as his eyes widened in horror to find Grace lying still on the ground. It wasn't too difficult for the mouse to tell that she was badly injured. To make matters worse, more thorny briars were erupting out of the lake around the attraction and making their way at a frightening speed toward Grace. If it wasn't for the briars growing everywhere, Maggie and Mrs. Calloway wouldn't be having a hard time trying to get to their friend in peril. Mickey knew he had to help her quick.

"KIDA, TAKE ME DOWN…OVER THERE!" Mickey pointed to Grace's location.

Kida nodded and steered the stone fish to the right at a fast pace. Landing the flying device, Kida and Mickey hopped off and jumped in front of Grace to defend her from an oncoming branch that had burst toward them. She slashed at with a swoop of her Atlantean spear, cutting it into the air. A couple more erupted leaving her to slash at a few more. Mickey shot a couple yellow blasts from his fingers, frying them. When there was none left, the two fighters finally went to check on Grace.

"Please be alright," Mickey whispered in a pleading tone.

The poor blond cow showed no signs of life, until Kida shook her shoulders gently enough for Grace to cough a bit. Mickey smiled a little in relief to find that she was still alive. For Grace it was terrible. She could barely move or speak, all thanks to her petrified, injured body. Grace gagged as her semi-consciousness broke from the next wave of distress inside her ribs. It felt that someone was taking a hammer to her head and nothing could stop the intense pounding. The pain was more unbearable than she had feared. While Kida was busy untying the knot to her necklace, Grace was able to open her eyes halfway and look on into the grief stricken face of Mickey Mouse. For the first time, she was glad to see him by her side. She didn't know why, but something about him being her made her feel good.

Mickey saw through her sorrowful, regretful eyes and knew what she might have been thinking. How could he not find it in his heart to forgive her and the others for rejecting his invitation, after all they've been through?

Grace coughed again, feeling Kida's fingers on the side of her ribs. Her legs were cold and numb. Then she was able to whisper in a shallow sigh. "I…I'm s…sorry."

"It's alright," Mickey said gently. "I forgive you. Besides, it's not your fault this happened."

Another crack of lightening brought his attention as Mickey remembered that Maleficent still needed to be stopped.

"Mickey, go stop Maleficent if you have to," Kida reminded him. "I will stay here and watch over her. These injuries may take a little longer to heal."

Reluctantly Mickey left Grace in Kida's care. "Don't worry, this will all be over soon." He told her. "Just hang in there."

Mickey set off on foot since it wasn't too far where Maleficent stood. He did not have time to look back and see a tear slide from Grace's eye as Kida concentrated on healing her injuries.

* * *

"Insolent fools!" Maleficent bellowed, sending a wave of green energy at the Atlanteans, throwing them off their stone fishes before landing in the lake, their spears torn from their hands. "You're no match for me!" The blue blasts from the stone fishes were deflected by some sort of enchanted barrier protecting Maleficent. None of them could break it open. Next the _Legacy_ fired cannons and lasers from above, but it too had no effect on breaking the barrier. "Is that the best you can do?" She called forth a trademark of green fire to strike the ship like a bolt of lightening. The ships sail was caught by fire.

"FIRE!" Amelia exclaimed, turning the wheel. "We must turn around!"

"LOOK OUT!" Doppler shouted, pointing to another oncoming wave of green fire, striking instantly. "WE'RE GOING DOWN!"

Indeed Doppler was right the moment the _Legacy_ was losing control and preparing to fall into the Rivers of America with a great big splash. Luckily the ship had not been that high enough for it to break, but the fall created a massive wave of water from beneath. Amelia, Doppler, Morph, Silver, and B.E.N. were able to escape from the stateroom before being spotted by Maleficent.

"SEE, WHAT DID I TELL YOU FOOLS!" Maleficent cackled victoriously. "YOUR PUNY WEAPONS ARE USELESS MY DARK POWERS! YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER RETURNED!"

The sorceress watched the natives riding atop their mammoths stabbing and slicing their sharp spears into the thorny briars to help the bears move through. No word from Maleficent was going to ever break their fighting spirit anytime. This had infuriated her further more.

"Well then I see you're all so eager and desperate enough for your own downfall in fighting me!" she said, tapping her staff. "Perhaps you're not as weak as I thought. But let's see how well you handle this!"

The heroes looked above to find green fireballs raining down upon them. They dodged them without a scratch. But Maleficent didn't stop there. A dozen more thorny briars erupted out from the lake and stone cement, carrying the natives, bears, and Atlanteans off the ground. Still they refused to quit fighting. Soon another different power from out of nowhere had shot out, incinerating the briars to save the heroes. Maleficent turned to her left to see Mickey Mouse standing in good health.

"NOBODY HURTS MY FAMILY WHILE I'M STILL AROUND!" Mickey shouted, pointing his finger in her direction. "NOW LEAVE HERE OR ANSWER TO ME!"

Maleficent didn't feel the least bit threatened by his warning. "THEN LET US END THIS BATTLE ONCE AND FOR ALL!" She raised her ominous staff with both hands and drove it into the stone, causing green flames to erupt around her. Soon she began to take on a monstrous transformation.

Mickey had seen this coming. But he had always been prepared for this sort of thing during every battle with the forces of evil. No fear dwelled within his heart, not even as he watched the transformation of Maleficent going from sorceress to a dark fire breathing creature of sharp angles. Her face evolved into a fanged snout and her hands curved into sharp talons. Her dark robes melted into her skin, morphing into scales. Her serpentine neck grew upward at an enormous length. The whole transformation was complete in no more than an entire minute.

The heroes were taken aback by fear of this monstrosity, not knowing whether to stay and fight or take cover if they were possibly no match for this dragon. Maleficent, now in dragon form stretched out her wings and flew over the Rivers of America to do battle on land. With a swish of her giant reptilian tale, the natives and bears were cast aside and thrown into the lake with several splashes sounding. Even Kenai and Koda had been caught in this with the others.

"You don't frighten me Maleficent!" Mickey snapped courageously. "Just try and finish me off!"

Mickey dashed aside to avoid the flaming hot breath from the evil dragon. The briars were set aflame as Maleficent attempted to snatch the mouse in her jaws. Not knowing how many flaming breaths it would take for the dragon to run out of fire, Mickey knew he had to flee from the fiery branches and lead Maleficent to where she could not hurt the fallen heroes any further. And he certainly didn't wish to hit any of his friends by accident with his own deep magic.

Still he kept on moving and dodging the snap of her powerful jaws. Not even the force of the thorny briars could stop Mickey as he made a run. He searched for the entrance of Frontier Land as he climbed the branches, avoiding the sharpness of the dense thorns. Unluckily, there was barely anything to see through the stems since it seemed that almost every sign and attraction was becoming entangled and covered. Mickey couldn't help worrying about the others who might possibly be trapped somewhere within the vines; especially for Kida who still stayed behind to heal Grace of those serious injuries.

Then before he knew it, the dragon had found him, pulling its head back and thrusting it forward. The dragon breathed another long plume of green fire. Mickey scrambled out of the way before the branches caught fire. The flames spread slowly as Mickey climbed to the top of a different hill of briars. This time Mickey countered another fire attack with his own power. The two attacks created a minor explosion of sparks raining down. After this, Mickey quickly made his way across the hazardous area of thorns by hopping and shooting a few briars away to make an easier path for him. He wanted to be careful not to waste too much of his powers by doing this.

Roaring in rage, Maleficent swiped at the dense thorns with her enormous tail and talons. Then when she spotted Mickey several feet away, she used her tail to slam the ground powerful enough to cause him to lose balance and tumble down. With pleasure, the dragon took more swipes, followed by another green fiery blast. But she had not seen Mickey grab on to a briar before he could hit the ground. He continued climbing and hiding to avoid her sight until he was able to find a spot to do battle with her.

While Mickey had been taking care of Maleficent, Kida was still at work with concentrating on healing Grace's terrible injury from the earlier crash. As much as she wished to go help Milo and the others, Kida couldn't bear the thought of leaving someone alone while they were in much greater pain. This wasn't the first time that she had dealt with a great injury, but no matter how long it might take, she wasn't going to give up anytime. Nothing was going to stop her.

Grace coughed softly again, showing signs that she was not beyond all help as it seemed. Kida was relieved to see that the sweet bovine held on. Her hands kept hold on the ribs while holding the blue crystal on top. The crystal glowed brightly as the job of healing was working through.

This situation was soon to be interrupted by the appearance of the monstrous dragon's face rising from behind the buttes of the attraction. In some way, Kida sensed the monster's presence, but refused to look up or be aggravated by the flames that surrounded the two. Although sweat poured down their faces, a bright blue light from the crystal created a shield, protecting them. No flame could break through.

Furious at this, Maleficent was gearing up for another attack to fry them for returning to interfere with her victory. There was no possible way these fools could ever stand a chance against her dark powers. As she breathed more fire in their direction, the force was cut halfway by a white orb of light, creating an explosion of green fire and white energy before exploding into dusty sparks. She turned around to find Mickey standing on top of her tail.

"LEAVE MY FRIENDS OUT OF THIS MALEFICENT!" Mickey demanded. "YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME! LET US SETTLE THIS ON THE MATTERHORN!"

The dragon whipped her tail upward, heaving Sorcerer Mickey into the air. In secret, Mickey planned this to use the opportunity to do this from a higher altitude. And that higher altitude was the top peak of the Matterhorn attraction. The plan worked perfectly for him as he found himself flying over Fantasy Land for what it seemed like forever. When he finally did land on the Matterhorn safely, he climbed quickly to the top, listening closely to the oncoming roars of Maleficent. He felt light as he continued climbing, but none of that mattered to him. Despite how far he was from Maleficent's reach, Mickey could feel the heat of the flames approaching. He had only at least two more climbs to go after rechecking his position down below.

Before he could climb another step, Mickey turned around courageously to find the dragon no less than several feet away. This was it. The final confrontation between him and Maleficent was about to be drawn to a close. Only one of them would win this fight in the end. But Mickey was not afraid.

**AN**: _I decided to break this final showdown into two parts to make it a little more epic and exciting as best as I can. Glad to have done another update here. Usually I hate taking so long to update, especially when working on an animated project keeps me busy. So I sincerely hope that the next chapter doesn't take too long for me to update. I would like to thank the people who reviewed this story so far and thank PokeMaster93 for advice on how the ending should go. I'll see how well I can handle it._


	12. The Final Showdown part II

**Chapter 12: The Final Showdown part II**

The battle between the heroes and remaining villains continued down on ground in all areas of the park. Everyone stopped fighting for a few minutes when the swoop by the dragon's wings brought their attention to her. A few characters had scattered, screaming in terror as the dragon breathed green fire all around them. Everyone took a better view of the Matterhorn and saw that Mickey was perched on top, waiting for Maleficent's arrival. The heroes who had already defeated their own enemies rushed over to the mountain attraction hoping to give Mickey some back up. Mickey was their leader and not even Maleficent was going to stop them from losing hope on saving their home.

"I'm here Maleficent!" Mickey called out. "Come and get me!" He used this opportunity to climb all the way to the top of the Matterhorn.

Maleficent had geared up for another fiery breath attack which was later countered and dodged by Mickey. But that didn't necessarily mean that he couldn't feel the wash of heat during every dodge. The last time he remembered climbing to a mountaintop was the same from that dream of conjuring ocean waves and bringing down stars from the heavens. That was when he had defied Yen Sid's orders to carry water from the well by using a broom to do the job for him. But this time, he would use that power to save everyone from the powers of darkness.

Finally Mickey found that he was now standing on the top of the Matterhorn. By this time the thorny briars from below were growing and slithering their way up the mountain attraction in a slow movement. When another fiery breath attack sped towards him, Mickey countered it by summoning a star flame power to knock it off course. Soon the wicked dragon landed on the side of the mountain, roaring and climbing her way up by her talons.

Mickey called down the stars from the heavens to rain down upon her. The dragon growled in annoyance, almost losing her grip on the mountain walls. Then she hurled more fire up at Mickey, missing him. The power from the stars had slowed down her climbing progress, but Maleficent wasn't about to quit anytime until she would finished off Mickey once and for all.

Looking down at the dragon, Mickey thought this battle with Maleficent wasn't going as difficult as he would have guessed. Yet he knew wisely that it was best to stay on his feet at all times and never underestimate what other trickery the evil sorceress might be capable of. Suddenly the mountain shook violently, causing the mouse to fall and hold onto the top. He then saw that the dragon was climbing back up from each thunderous step she took. Mickey knew he had to call forth the power of the stars again to slow her down, but before he could summon the stars, a fire attack from below had knocked his sorcerer hat off. Turning around anxiously, Mickey was about to go after it. If it hadn't been for the thunderous shaking by Maleficent, he wouldn't find himself now hanging onto the edge for life. Great, now he lost the hat again! What could be worse?

Then Mickey glanced up, finding Maleficent had now made it to the top, preparing for one more fire attack to fry him. The dragon had opened up her enormous jaws until someone or something had unexpectedly jumped upon her head.

"Gotcha yah slimy scaly fiend!"

The creature who had jumped on her was none other than Lucky Jack who had grabbed the eyelids above, releasing them in a tiny snap. After this the dragon let out a shrill cry, waving her head around in hopes of getting the creature off her head. The peg-legged rabbit hung on by holding onto her left horn, acting as if he was riding on top of an angry bull.

"Yee-haw giddy up scaly!" Lucky Jack shouted. Then he grabbed onto her finlike appendages in both hands to give a hard yank, inflicting pain from the roaring dragon. This move was made to distract Maleficent for as long as possible until the sorcerer hat was claimed.

"Way to go Lucky Jack!" Mickey crowed, still hanging off the edge. While trying to climb his way back up, he watched Maleficent shaking her head violently and pawing at it, still trying to knock the rabbit loose. Mickey wondered how Lucky Jack had the strength to make it all the way up the mountain in time and throw himself on top of the dragon. That was when a teenage boy's voice called out from behind.

"Mickey, catch this!"

Mickey turned around and saw Jim Hawkins flying on his solar surfboard, throwing the hat back to him. Mickey caught hold of the end and placed it back on his head.

"Thanks Jim!"

Feeling the power within him once again, Mickey climbed back to the top to pelt Maleficent in the belly with a huge white beam.

"Oh right in the gutter!" Lucky Jack cheered for Mickey, holding onto the horn. "Yah like that don't you! Now give a good…WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" At that point, Maleficent sung her head from side to side until the rabbit flung off to the right side, sailing helplessly through the air. Jim Hawkins quickly flew his solar surfboard over to catch him before he hit the ground.

Thinking that there was no other backup for Mickey, Maleficent raised her foot up to squish him like a bug. But she was again interrupted by several blue blasts shooting repeatedly into the side of her large body. She turned her head to the left to witness several more Atlanteans on their stone fishes, coming to Mickey's aid. Although Mickey did mention that this battle was between him and Maleficent, the Forgotten Five realized that Mickey truly cared and loved them as much as each and every Disney character down below, fighting for what is right. That's why he was putting himself at risk to defeat Maleficent. He was fighting this battle for THEM! Whether Mickey needed backup or not, he was the only true leader of this studio who would never, ever turn any character away from his family, no matter what their image is. If he didn't care about them, he wouldn't have bothered to take notice of their absences during every special event or stood up for them during the characters' uprising. That's why the Forgotten Five were willing to return the favor by helping Mickey.

"HEY MICKEY, DON'T LET HER MANIPULATE YOU THE SAME WAY SHE ALMOST DID TO US!" Milo called from the stone fish while the Atlanteans kept firing at the dragon. "I KNOW WE LET YOU DOWN WITH OUR FAILURE BEFORE, BUT WE'RE NOT LETTING ANYTHING LIKE THAT STOP US FROM EVER HELPING OUT A FRIEND WHENEVER THEY NEED YOU AT A TIME LIKE THIS!"

By now, the Atlanteans flew in different directions the moment when the dragon breathed more green fire all around. Then Mickey noticed Jim come flying back on his surfboard with Lucky Jack hanging on. It was then that Mickey might have guessed that it was Jim who flew his way here with the little guy before the dragon could do any more harm.

"BUT EVEN THOUGH WE STILL HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST MICHAEL, WE SHOULD HAVE JUST GONE TO YOU INSTEAD OF TRYING TO HANDLE THE SITUATION OURSELVES!" Jim maintained with a little emotion in his voice. "NOT ONLY WERE WE JUST HURTING OURSELVES, BUT WE WOULD HAVE HURT THE PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT US. WE THOUGHT NOBODY CARED ABOUT US UNTIL PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE FOLLOWED UPON OUR RETURN. NOW WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU STOP HER FROM RUINING EVERYTHING!"

"Did yah think that we allow this beast to start harmin' the one who stood up for us when our friends vanished?" Lucky Jack winked. "What kinda friends would we be If we stood back doin' nothin'? This is our fight as it is yours. And whether we live or die in the end afterward, we never give up on the light n' hope that brings us all together like this, even in the darkest o' times!"

Mickey's own eyes grew teary when he listened to these words. Just as he had listened, a deep power from within him was surging though, growing and growing like a sunflower born from a tiny seed, planted within the soiled earth as the sun shone upon it. The characters drew back a few feet the moment Mickey began to glow a golden color of light. It had practically vibrated with energy as Mickey put his hands to his heart. The more he glowed, the further they drew back. Bursts of golden light shot out in every direction seconds later throughout the entire park. Everyone had covered their eyes for protection. It was as if Mickey had become a powerful supernova. More brilliant golden lights went streaking into the crowd down below; weakening the powers of the eerie, ghostly villains enough to send them back to the realm of darkness where they came from. Even Maleficent had cringed back from this mysterious power.

Soon the bright light eased down, but Mickey was still glowing and glanced up at Maleficent. From the determined expression, Mickey was ready for another fight. If it meant a fight to the death to save his family, then let it be. Nothing was more important than friends and family who were willing to put their lives at risk to save someone they loved. The light from within himself, spoken by the words of the Forgotten Five gave Mickey the strength to carry on. Something about their hope, courage, and kindness had helped this power to grow. He was not going to let them down.

Finally Maleficent scoffed at the sight, caring little for what sort of power this was. She had enough time to open her mouth for one final fiery breath attack, hurling it down upon Mickey. But to her surprise, the attack left no scratch on the little sorcerer who stood there protected by a pure, gold shield. He only moved closer fearlessly while Maleficent kept firing. Just before she could breathe a fourth time, Mickey pointed his glowing finger hurling a golden beam at her mouth, before the impact occurred.

"Hey Maleficent, haven't you forgotten something?" He shouted. "You may think you're so powerful, well, this is my dream!"

The golden beam worked its way toward her successfully. The dragon apparently reared its head back in agony as if a powerful sword plunged deep into her chest. Then afterward electricity surged throughout her serpentine body before everything transformed into sound and light.

* * *

For the heroes and heroines down below, there was no telling what could have happened at the sight of those two sounds mixing together. The strong beam of gold light made it difficult to see everything going on. But when the glowing explosion had disappeared, so did the dragon. There was no sign of her or Mickey anywhere. By miracle, the thorny briars were beginning to wither, die, and disappear from every ground, building, and street sign they had covered up. While the thorns were withering away, Maleficent's henchmen, fearing what happened to their mistress made a run for it, hoping to get back to their lair. Elliot pursued after, scaring them further with his revived fire attack. All the other characters like the Reluctant Dragon, Dumbo, The Jungle Book characters, the Greek Gods, the entire dog and cat characters, Taran, Stitch, and all the princes helped to drive them all the way out of the park. The goons kept on running like cowards, knowing that with Maleficent defeated, they themselves were possibly outnumbered. Dumbo targeted a few with his water blast. Mushu riding on a black kite by the fuse of a rocket strapped to his back, released himself a second before the rocket impacted the cowering minions in a minor explosion, creating small fire crackers in the sky. Then the rest of the remaining villains were onslaught by spells, arrows, spears, strength, and swords from the three good fairies, Merlin, Genie, King Triton, Robin Hood, Beast, Mulan, Aladdin, Simba, Hercules, Tarzan, and the rest.

In no more than a minute, Hercules had overpowered Hades and Cerberus, sending them flying back to the Underworld. The Huns retreated rather quickly, unable to win without Shan Yu. Tarzan freed his gorilla family from the pirates who had imprisoned them in cages, with the help of Tantor, Terk, and Jane. The Cauldron Born withered and turned into dust after the Horned King was pulled into the Black Cauldron. The Seven Dwarves chased the Wicked Queen over the edge of the cliff, helping Prince Charming in rescuing Snow White from the sleeping death. The animal heroes such as Bambi teamed alongside the mice heroes, the dogs and cats, Simba, Kenai and Koda in driving off the dangerous creatures that plagued Adventure Land and Frontier Land. Pecos Bill rounded the evil critters up with his lasso trick and hurled them miles and miles into into the closing vortex where they first popped out of. Because of the vast growing numbers of thorny briars, the cows and their companions were unable to get through. But once the spell was broken, they finally gave the other animal heroes a helping hand to finish off the battle.

By fighting altogether, the entire family of heroes, heroines, and sidekicks had helped one another to defeat the villains. With no more enemies left to fight, entire cast of characters erupted into cheers of victory. The battle of the villains was finally over. But whatever happened to Mickey?

Their question was answered by the sound of a makeshift solar surfer preparing to make a landing. Jim gripped the crossbar securely as he flew in…with Mickey hanging onto his left leg.

"WHOO-HOO, WE DID IT!" Jim yelled victoriously.

Landing safely, Mickey jumped off to greet the rushing crowd, bursting into wild cheers, congratulating the mouse who started it all.

"You did it Mickey!" Pinocchio shook Mickey's hand.

"No," Mickey insisted. "We all did it." He turned to half of the characters of the Forgotten Five. "But most of all, this victory could have never been possible without these guys. Why, where would we really be if it wasn't for their return?"

The characters then turned to the Forgotten Five, rushing forward to raise them to their shoulders. Mickey smiled at the congratulating and honoring. Then his smile dropped, remembering something else back over at Frontier Land, darting passed the crowd.

**AN**: _Well that's it for the battle of the villains. But this story isn't entirely over just yet. The next chapter might be a little emotional, depending on how much I can think of as Mickey gets this chance to have a talk with the Forgotten Five about the importance of family and what brings them all together. The next chapter after that will be the celebration of the characters' return and triumph. I may even add one epilogue at the very end. But I won't tell what it is just yet. I strongly hope that this battle was epic enough. But sometimes I still feel that I'm not as good as other Disney fanfiction writers. I don't know what else might have made this final confrontation with Maleficent more epic than what is written here. I still hope you enjoyed this chapter. As for Mickey glowing like that from listening to the words of the Forgotten Five, I was thinking about those words from the first Kingdom Hearts game: no matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. I'd like to credit Yensid365 here for helping me along with the ideas for the last confrontation. I probably would have never been able to upload this story or the first five chapters without her advice._


	13. The Aftermath

**Chapter 13: The Aftermath**

Back over at the Big Thunder Mountain attraction, Kida breathed heavily as she was still healing Grace with everything she had in that blue crystal. Part of her wanted to sacrifice a limited number of her strength and offer it to this fallen comrade who deserved nothing more but to walk again. Grace had still been breathing, even while Kida was at work.

_I'm not dying, I'm just too hurt to move, and that's all_. Grace thought both worriedly and sadly, feeling Kida's hands. _Please let me be alright. I won't believe that this is the end. I just won't_. Her eyes remained closed as she thought of these words. She wanted to move, but part of the searing pain still remained, preventing any movement. All this injury made her feel so tired, that it almost made her want to sleep.

The two characters did not notice Mickey race down next to them until Kida heard his breathing. His face was rather pale from the long run from Fantasy Land. He was out of breath and looked exhausted by the time he caught up to them. But as long as Kida felt him close by their side, it didn't matter. Yet another part of her wished that he didn't have to see the pain that Grace might be going through inside.

Mickey watched with sadness in his eyes. It pained him deeply to see any member of his family possibly beyond all help in this condition, no matter what movie title they come from. _Please be alright_. Mickey pleaded in his mind.

Suddenly there was a sound of rumbling footsteps and thousands of whispering from outside of the attraction. Thousands of Disney characters, curious to wonder where Mickey wandered off to, had recently followed him all the way to Frontier Land. They stopped, frozen with shock at the sight of Mickey standing beside a fallen comrade, struggling with survival. Minnie dashed off to call the Toon Town Ambulance.

Mickey dared not utter a single word, knowing he could do nothing but watch and hope that sweet Grace would wake up soon. A lump formed in his throat as he fought to keep any tears from spilling. Mickey secretly vowed that once she woke up, he'd make sure that she and the rest of the Forgotten Five would be remembered as the heroes who returned to save this Magic Kingdom from being taken over by the villains.

Then the glowing blue light faded, leaving Kida exhausted from all that healing power concentration. She breathed deeply, gently touching the sweet bovine's face. It felt rather cool. Kida shook her head shockingly. It couldn't have failed. Her powers never failed…not like this; unless the coldness was only from her tired fingers. She stared up at Mickey with a heavy heart. With tears in his eyes, Mickey buried his face in his hands in disbelief. This had to be a bad dream. If only he could have done something sooner to prevent this giant battle from ever happening. Not only that, but he wished that he could have been there for the Forgotten Five a lot sooner when Michael neglected and never bothered with them. Now it was too late. The last time he felt completely sad about losing someone was the day when his father, Walt Disney passed away, and the world mourned his death. Kida could only lower her head down in shame, wishing she could have been stronger enough to save this innocent life. The other Disney characters who had been watching, shared this moment of grief altogether. Even for characters like Alice, Merlin, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, Taran, Basil of Baker Street, and all the rest, staring down at the scene below reminded them of how they were once treated as if nobody loved them. It had given them the feeling of being broken and shattered in spiritual pieces, beyond repair. They couldn't help but stare down in understanding.

Mickey then turned his tearstained face to his left hand, still glittering with whatever golden glow remained inside of him. He wondered if it was possible to…

An idea suddenly came to Mickey he placed both hands on Grace's ribs, closing his eyes in concentration. Kida stared in concern, wondering what was going on. The audience stared in awe at the sight of her broken body glowing with a golden light that went on for several seconds. Then it faded away.

Suddenly, their prayers were answered when Grace starting coughing, fluttering her eyes while moving her head slowly and gently. She groaned like a child refusing to get up and go to school. Kida and Mickey watched in amazement. Mickey smiled through his tears. Kida smiled to find that perhaps her powers were enough to help Grace hold on. But just in case, she touched Grace on the cheek again, now warm. Grace was finally able to open her eyes halfway and stare up at Mickey, blinking repeatedly to make sure she wasn't dead. The crowd of characters burst into cheerful applause to see that a member of their family was not lost as they feared. To them and to Mickey, losing a family member in the Disney Studios was just as emotional and painful as a real human being mourning over the death of a loved one. Everyone had gathered and arrived as their way of showing that no one should ever be alone; especially in dark times like this.

"Let us through, let us through, excuse us please!" an anxious voice pleaded, trying to get through the crowd of characters.

"Mrs. Calloway?" Grace muttered weakly, rising up halfway on her front two legs. "Maggie…where are you guys?" Her back legs were apparently still in pain from the fall, so Grace didn't want to hurt herself any further by moving so fast. It was hard to hear her friends' voices among the cheering crowd from outside. "What happened, did we win already?"

"Don't worry, we won," Mickey answered.

The anxious voice belonging to Mrs. Calloway, had climbed her way down, followed by Maggie, Buck, Lucky Jack, Jim Hawkins, Milo Thatch, Kuzco (in llama form), Kenai and Koda. Maggie and Mrs. C got to her first.

"Grace, we were afraid we lost you!" Maggie cried. "I mean that hit you took was mighty intense!"

"Tell us Grace, does it still hurt all over?" Mrs. C asked in a worried tone.

"Maybe…a little bit, but at least I'm alive," Grace admitted. "…thanks to her." She pointed her head to Kida. "…and to Mickey."

Both characters had smiled as the Forgotten Five gathered around, hoping that thanking Mickey for standing up for them would be enough to show that they are not useless in any way. Each of them wanted to pour out their feelings to Mickey instead of keeping it all a secret like they did since the start of the Save Disney War. Since there were no administrators around here or Michael Eisner, perhaps it was now safe to talk about it in front of the other classic characters watching.

"Hey Mickey, if it's alright with you…we…" Kuzco felt rather awkward, unsure of finding the right words to say. "…we uh…hope you and your friends wouldn't mind us sticking around here a little while to help clean up…you know until this whole saving-the-company thing is over with. What I mean is…"

"…we're grateful for what you did for us," Milo interrupted, helping a tired Kida on her feet, her arm wrapped around his neck. "But what's going to happen when the public finds out what happened? How do we explain the office incident to anyone?"

"What are you all saying?" Mickey asked uneasily.

The Forgotten Five was silent for a moment, feeling more awkward and shameful of what one of them was about to blurt out. Then Kenai mentioned it. "For the good of this company, it might be best if we stay in our own world afterward…away from everybody. Not forever we mean, just…just until the end of the real war."

Mickey was flabbergasted. "What, and miss out on everything you guys never gave a chance to see. I could care less if Michael is still in office. I can take care of everything, but you won't have to hide from anybody ever again."

"But how can we…?" Jim was about to say something else before Mickey interrupted.

"I know how you all feel about Michael," Mickey replied rather emotionally. "You have every right to be upset at him for what he did. We all do. And Jim was right back over there. Rather than think of taking matters into your own hands, you should have just come to me. Whether you were truly thinking about it or not, vengeance is never the answer to your problems. I could've helped if you gave me a chance."

"We're sorry Mickey," Milo confessed, keeping a firm hold on Kida. "It's not that we don't appreciate what you did for us, we really do. And we thank you and everybody for standing up. Even the fans were a good impression. But the entire public out there…we're not so sure about them." He was referring to the rest of society; uncertain if the humans would accept them that easily, even after this battle.

Mickey's lip quivered, heaving a sigh of sadness. "When I heard that a part of my family had been banished, I felt emptiness inside my heart that became unfulfilled. At first I thought me and the rest of our remaining members could still handle the dark forces, despite the emptiness. But once the villains started overpowering us, I then realized that we couldn't do it without EVERYBODY to put a stop to it. I was about to lose hope that I would ever see my missing family again…until Kida showed up to restore my strength. My confidence had returned, filling the emptiness the moment I saw you guys had come back. Without you, we might have all fallen down at the mercy of Maleficent…or worse." His eyes grew teary. "You can think what you want about the public, but hear me out. All of us here at the Magic Kingdom have been through both good times and bad times. But through it all, we have all found love, hope, and friends who always stood by when things got tough. Each of our films from past to present, success or failure, has built up on what our company stands for; even your own films."

The Forgotten Five stared at him in a rather stunned, emotional manner. For the first time in their lives, those last words from Mickey had touched their hearts in a way they never felt before. But Mickey sucked up his tears, not yet finished.

"Don't you understand that each of your films can carry an important message to anybody out there? It doesn't matter how much money or popularity you achieve at the movie theatres, what matters is how the message can change at least one or more viewers' lives one way or another. That's what everybody's films here have been made for. This company has been about opening doors to new worlds and new ideas. Even underrated films have a purpose for being here, and that's to make as many families as happy as they can. So how would those folks know about you if you kept yourselves isolated in the dark? If there is even one family out there who loves you and will watch your adventures, you would show yourself just for them. That's what I would do. The adventures and lessons you guys have shared together in those films aren't just your own, they are lessons in everyday life that people can relate to." He had a short pause, sniffling. "So you might never know if you helped to open a wonderful door for someone out in the real world."

It was then that the Forgotten Five grew more touched with everything Mickey mentioned, understanding how right he was. Kuzco's eyes grew blurry, bursting into tears emotionally. Morph, B.E.N., Mole, Cookie, Koda, Buck, and Lucky Jack soon followed him, as did most of the other classic Disney family members from above who had been watching and listening this whole time. Even the cows were touched by this, unable to utter a single word of protest. Not this time. Now that someone like Mickey Mouse had said something kind to them, they never thought about true family entertainment like that before; about what it means to be yourself and be there for the one family that cares. Maybe there would be no reason to hide themselves if more than one person might be waiting for them out there.

"He's right!" Kuzco wailed. "What were we thinking all this time?"

"Now don't go on blaming yourselves for this mess," Mickey said. "Maleficent just has a way of taking advantage of everyone's feelings and using it against us. But believe it or not, this isn't the first time she's tried to take over things. And I have a feeling it won't be the last we see of her."

Grace stared down at the ground between her front legs, silent the whole time Mickey had been talking. Tears were sliding down her face as she thought about the entire idea of being loved by at least a dozen people instead of not being loved by anybody at all.

"You mean…she might come back at anytime?" Grace asked in a worried tone.

"Don't worry about that," Mickey assured her. "She won't be back tonight. Those villains may be scary and powerful, but as long as we're all together, they won't stand a chance."

If what Mickey said was true, maybe it wouldn't hurt just this once to see for themselves if there are folks who still care. Then they wouldn't have to hide anymore.

"The point is that I love you guys, no matter who you are or how much money you earned," Mickey finished. "You never let me down before. I'm proud of you for making as many people happy as my father Walt always use to do."

The crowd of characters burst into wild cheers. Everyone was about to rush forward to carry them all the way through the park until the echo of sirens sounded in the distance. The characters turned around to see five toon ambulances arrive labeled _Toon Town Hospital_ on both sides of the vans. Minnie jumped out from one of the vans, pointing the way to the railroad attraction ride. However, she was both shocked and relieved to find that sweet Grace was alive and standing, if not entirely. Still it would best to send the toon doctors down there and see how well she could move.

The rest of the vans drove around searching the parks for any more injured characters that might be lying somewhere. One van stayed behind in Frontier Land to check on Grace. When the doctors asked if she was able to stand on all fours, Grace stood on all of them for a second before they wobbled, causing her to lose balance and fall. So the doctors had to help her onto a hospital bed gently and carefully pull her out from the attraction ride to where the van awaited. Maggie, Mrs. C and the rest of her friends were allowed to come along for the ride just to be with her.

"Oh Mickey, Walt would be proud of you," Minnie said, kissing him.

"Thanks Minnie, I know he would," Mickey replied as the two embraced.

**AN**: _I was listening to two songs from Pete's Dragon while writing this chapter, It's Not Easy and Candle on the Water. This story is almost done, so the next chapter will be the celebration. And I'll even add an epilogue or two at the very end. As Pete mentioned, it's not easy to find someone who cares. But you may never know who you find. I miss the good old days when Disney movies were something for the entire family to enjoy, but at least there are still good animated movies out there, Disney or non-Disney. What I had Mickey mention is the truth of what the Disney films are about as my old friend Yensid365 mentioned before. So I will credit her once again for helping me here with the idea before. Stay tuned for the next chapter._


	14. Celebration of the Day

**Chapter 14: Celebration of the Day**

Weeks after the incident inside the park, the Disney characters had set to work helping Mickey and the employees to clean parts of the damage caused by the villains. All plans for the House of Mouse gathering had to be postponed until repairs were complete. Although Michael Eisner had not stepped down yet, he had spent most of his time in secret meetings, avoiding contact with the characters, in case any of the Forgotten Five might still be waiting out there to attack him at anytime while no one was watching. So he had security guards at every door and entrance at the office while the damage caused by the Five was being cleaned and repaired, not knowing how long it would take. Those five movie titles nearly cost him a fortune with this place. And he still questioned himself on why he even bothered with them in the first place during that time. The experience from the office attack and battle with the villains never opened his eyes to anything sadly.

At the Toon Town Hospital, Grace stayed there for several weeks, reluctantly waiting until her back legs recovered completely. Her friends from Patch of Heaven were allowed to visit and let her know how things were going over at the Magic Kingdom. Whether the news was good or not, their visitation always cheered her up. Even Mickey would pay a visit every now and then to let her know that she and the rest of the Forgotten Five are not alone and that he was planning something special for them once the park was cleaned up. During that time, Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, and the rest of the cast wanted to make amends with Mickey and Minnie, feeling terrible for even thinking about putting the blame on him, even when it wasn't his fault. Ever since last year, the three cows were so overcome with disappointment and anger at everything that they blindly used Mickey as a dartboard without knowing that doing so only made the pain worse for them and for Mickey. But after the battle, they admitted that it was wrong of them to do that, especially when Mickey admitted how much he cared for everyone in his family. Mickey, not being the kind to hold a grudge forgave them, understanding how hard things have been for everyone. He always showed kindness and love to every member in the Disney family, even when someone wasn't being kind back. He could never stop loving any one of them, because it was his job and everyone else's to treat others with love, kindness, and respect no matter how different they are. Grace wasn't the only Disney character to wind up at the hospital. Aladdin went in with a broken left arm, John Smith had bandages wrapped around his chest, Meg had a broken left ankle, Mulan injured her elbow during the final confrontation with Shan Yu, and several of the animal characters received injuries in their legs from either gunshots or poaching traps. Although staying in a hospital bed would be a bit boring at times, Grace did not complain.

Roy E Disney, hearing about the incident in a newspaper, rushed over to the Magic Kingdom to pay Mickey a visit and ask him some questions about it. When Mickey told him everything that had happened, Roy promised him that he would keep on working to gather enough shareholders to oust Eisner once and for all since the real war was far from over. This company was still his uncle's, even in death. And whether he liked any of the Five or not, he also promised Mickey that he would be at the Magic Kingdom for the planned celebration this summer. What the Five didn't know was that by the time the park was nearly all cleaned up by the end of June, Mickey planned to save the celebration of their heroic deeds on July 17th, during the Happiest Homecoming on Earth Ceremony; the anniversary of the park's first opening. He wanted to surprise them on that upcoming day without spoiling what he planned and who he invited. Everything had to be perfectly prepared and ready by then.

* * *

Soon July 17th finally arrived. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Daisy, Pluto, Scrooge McDuck, and Hewey, Dewey, and Louie beamed with satisfaction at the sight of the park being repainted with traditional colors and sparkling glitter at the surface of each building. Walls and turrets were embellished with banners, flags, draperies, and signs draped in silver, gold, and royal blue. Everywhere, the park contained fifty golden hidden Mickey Mouse heads with the number "50" displayed in the middle. Many classic attractions had reopened after lengthy refurbishments, such as the Enchanted Tiki Room, The Jungle Cruise, and Space Mountain. The original attractions had most of their ride vehicles painted in shining gold for the celebration. The golden crowns hung at the towers of the Sleeping Beauty castle.

"Oh Mickey," Minnie said happily. She wore a radiant princess gown. "Everything looks so wonderful."

"Yep, I can't wait till the guests arrive," Mickey replied, looking up at the stage standing a few feet away in front of the castle. Then he took a close look at his watch. "This should be in about ten minutes to 7 am. But where are the Five? They should be here."

"Now Mickey I'm sure they're already on their way," Daisy assured him. "Oh look, I think I see something."

Indeed she did. Coming their way first was two painted palace guards carrying Kuzco (back in human form) riding in one of those royal carriers.

"BOOM BABY!" Kuzco shouted in excitement, jumping off the carrier. "Bring on the party!"

"Kuzco, glad you made it," Mickey greeted. "Just follow Donald and Goofy. They'll lead you behind the stage until it's time to come on out. Think you can handle it?"

"Sure I can," Kuzco stated positively. "The crowds gotta show us gratitude for something. But I'll be waiting until it's time to come out."

He followed Donald and Goofy leading him behind the red velvety curtains onstage, making all sorts of rhythmic dance moves. His groove had been revived weeks after the incident. His other pals, Kronk, Pacha and all the rest of the cast from his movie showed up and were led behind the stage. Soon afterward came the entire cast of Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range, riding in vehicles, stone fishes, a solar surfboard, a flying ship, mammoths, and Conestoga wagons.

"Great, just in the nick of time!" Mickey shouted triumphantly. "Alright everyone, just follow my friends back stage and wait there."

Mickey watched with satisfaction and appreciation as the rest of the so-called Forgotten Five followed back stage. Almost every one of the characters had smiles on their faces, while a few such as the cows had nervous frowns. They wanted to feel excited about all this, but were worried of what would happen once they were called onstage in front of the crowds. Mickey noticed their expressions, but would later reassure them that it was going to be ok, once he got up there. He still knew the company would never have been saved without the Five.

"Hang in there girls," Mickey whispered, watching the underrated characters disappear behind the curtains. "It's gonna be alright. I know it will."

By the time the clock struck 7am, dozens of animated characters were walking their way toward Central Plaza. Mickey quickly rushed to the stage, behind the same curtain where the Five hid. He had nearly forgotten that he should stay hidden himself until everyone was outside. But Mickey and Minnie allowed themselves to peek behind the curtain. All the Disney princesses strolled down escorted by their princes and sidekicks, chatting about how fun this celebration would be to honor the Five as well as the park's anniversary. Dumbo, Peter Pan, Wendy, John, Michael, Tinker Bell the crows, Elliot, the Reluctant Dragon, the vultures from the Jungle Book, and the flying gaucho came swooping down. Peter Pan swooped over the turrets playing a flying game of Tag with Wendy and the Lost Boys. Through Adventure Land, out came Simba with Nala, Baloo, Bagheera, Mowgli, King Louie, Timon and Pumbaa, along with Tarzan and Jane riding atop Tantor with Terk tagging behind. Through the Fantasy Land gates came Alice, the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, March Hare, and the Walrus and the Carpenter. Driving a motor car at a fast speed was Mr. Toad with Rat, Mole, and Badger hanging on for life in the back until the vehicle came to a stop.

Minnie kept watching more characters coming and saw to her surprise that coming this way were…Pixar characters. She didn't remember Mickey saying that he invited them, not that she was against the idea. But how would the Five react to this? Everyone from Toy Story to The Incredibles was marching down through Main Street to Central Plaza. Sheriff Woody walked alongside Bulls eye, Jessie, the Green Army Men, Bo Peep, and Buzz Lightyear. Flik and the Circus Bugs flew high in the air. Mike and Sulley passed through waving at the guests. Soon tourists came in wearing golden Mickey Mouse hats.

"Um Mickey, can I talk to you alone for a minute," Minnie whispered to Mickey.

"Sure Minnie. Be right back you guys."

The Five stared at the two rather suspiciously, hoping that their private conversation didn't concern any of the guests out there. To have a peek for herself, Maggie looked through the small hole in the curtain and gasped, her heart pounding with fear as she stepped back.

"Maggie, what's wrong?" Grace asked.

"Whatever you do, don't look outside girls," Maggie answered uneasily.

But the Five hastily took turns peeking out of the curtain anyway and received the same uneasy feeling that she did.

"What the heck are they doing here; does anybody remember Mickey mention anything about this?" Jim panicked.

"Not that I recall," Kuzco replied. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling rather obligated than excited to show myself now."

"So am I," Jim agreed, wiping his sweaty forehead. "I know exactly what's going to happen once they see us."

"Crowds booing, objects thrown at your face, insults and false accusations rising," Grace added fearfully, breathing heavily. "That's all we ever got. I can picture it in my mind. I can't go out there. I just can't do it." Sweat dripped down her face as she kept on imagining what might be waiting for them out there.

"Just what is Mickey thinking?" Mrs. C whispered anxiously. "A bunch of bigger stars are certainly not ready to accept who we are. This is outrageous."

"But we're gonna have to step out sooner or later," Kenai reminded them. "Then again, I'd rather not anymore."

The Five kept whispering nervous comments about themselves and the crowds for several more seconds until Milo Thatch decided to put an end to it.

"Whoa time out everyone, time out!"

The nervous characters looked at him surprisingly.

"Alright now, I know some of us are a little edgy and uncomfortable with who is out there, even as we speak," he said firmly. "But how do we really know the crowd is gonna turn ugly if we haven't even seen it yet?" Everyone looked at each other for a second before Milo continued. "Remember what Mickey said about us showing ourselves, even for just one family? As far as I know, isolating ourselves in the dark will not make things any better for anybody…not even for us. We helped save this company, so the least we can do now is return the favor by not letting Mickey down, after all...he is a good leader. We're going out there together to give the best performance of our lives. What do you say?" Milo held out his hand.

The Five were silent for a moment. Then Kuzco jumped up.

"You know what, you're right," he said, determined. "So what if someone starts pointing their fingers at me. They can bash me for all I care, but I'm going out there anyway."

"And I'm not gonna run off easily just because of some small talk," Jim added fiercely. "This is supposed to be a special day for all of us, so we might as well treat it like one."

The rest of the Forgotten Five came to this agreement, putting their hands, paws, and hooves together. If there really was someone waiting for the Five to show, then the characters would do this for that one person and not give in to whatever rude remark might be thrown at them. They would do it. They would bravely face that crowd all together with Mickey by their side. All Mickey wanted to do was give them a chance with a better introduction and proper ceremony in honor of their bravery, and they were not going to let him down, despite the huge crowds waiting. Although a proper introduction should have happened to them sooner, now was better than never. Even the cows no longer worried to death about the situation outside. Well Grace still felt a little nervous with her front legs shaking, but she waited patiently.

"Try to relax Grace," Maggie whispered. "Your shaking is making me nervous."

"Sorry, I can't help it," Grace blushed.

More crowds of characters and tourists gathered at Central Plaza minutes later, each of them ready for someone to appear onstage. They stood patiently chatting with one another. The news of this stage show had been put up on billboards and posters everywhere weeks before. The Five would often peek every few seconds from behind the curtains, still wondering how people would react during their appearance. They couldn't possibly be rude to them during this special celebration, could they? Well whatever happens, the Five tried to stay brave and confident above their worries.

"Looks like the shows about to start Mickey," said Minnie from behind the other curtain. "I just can't help but be concerned."

"They'll clap Minnie, I'm sure of it," Mickey replied. "I would have thought everyone knew about the Five in the papers already. Why wouldn't they be here?"

"If you say so," Minnie shrugged.

She watched Mickey sneak over to the other curtain to let the Five know the show would start any minute.

"Remember, there's no reason to be nervous," he told them. "I'll make sure that the crowd cheers once you step out. It has always been my job to make sure all Disney films are treated right, especially yours."

Now with that taken care of, Mickey came out on stage to cheers and applause. Hearing this, The Five swelled with nervousness and joy the moment when they would be called upon to present themselves. This may be their last chance at being cleared of all negativity and finally be able to stand beside the classics rather than being left in the dust.

"Hello everybody, and welcome to Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration!" Mickey began. "Today we'll be doing a dedication to all the films and events that made this day possible. But most of all, we're doing this for a gang of very special and important characters. They all risked their lives to save this park from the forces of evil two months ago. Without them, we wouldn't be here right now."

Hearing the words "special" and "important" brought an amount of warmth to the Forgotten Five as they kept listening. Before this celebration, the Five would have never believed those words. But today was different. They were special and important. The Five finally understood that if they truly wanted to make this day feel any more special, they'd have to swallow their pride, and show themselves for all the fans out there that have cheered for them during the night of the battle.

"This is it gang," Maggie whispered. "We got a show to put on."

"We'll be doing this for the fans, if not everybody," Kenai added. "But we're doing this together."

Minnie still watched the crowd out there, tenser than ever. If the Forgotten Five succeeded today, they'd finally get the recognition and appreciation like they always wanted. But if their performance failed…Minnie dared not think about it. This show had to be the best.

"Mickey, I hope you know what you're doing," Minnie whispered under her breath.

"It's such an honor having you all be here for the park's anniversary. First, we're gonna start off this day and all through the night with the introduction of a couple of characters from five movie titles who some of you may be familiar with. Some of you may not. But like the rest of us, they've been going through a rough time with everything that happened. So that's why part of this celebration should be in honor of their heroic deeds. But now that I'm done talking here, let's give it up for the stars of The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range!" Mickey exclaimed.

The Forgotten Five came out to scattered applause. Some of the tourists either looked at them puzzled or unhappy. But dozens and dozens of others smiled with satisfaction, still clapping. Even the Disney characters still clapped for them. The Pixar characters stared, not sure what to think. Minnie watched the crowd more nervously, praying that no disaster would strike at any minute. The Forgotten Five stared with unease, having never been on stage before a large crowd of tourists, stared at them with mixed feelings. But rather than walking off stage, the characters came forward anyway up to where the microphone was. Milo was the first one to take the microphone, feeling more confident than uncomfortable.

"Hello everybody," Milo announced. "Glad you could all make it today. As some of you probably don't already know, yes we're characters from the five movies that Mickey just mentioned. Even though we were not mentioned too often, Mickey has taught us the meaning of what it means to be a part of the Disney family." The crowd stared and listened with silence, making the characters edgy. "I know some of you don't like us, I know some of you have never heard of our movies, but we're not here to steal the show or take all the credit for ourselves. We came here to have fun, be thanked, and to be there for those who do know about us. Before all this, we thought nobody wanted us around at all, not even in our own home. But once we later found out that our friends were in trouble, we took the risk of returning to the company to help save the day, even if it meant facing the consequences of our earlier actions. Sure there were stronger, developed heroes to do battle, but the thing is that Mickey couldn't defeat them all without EVERYBODY in his family…not without us involved."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves with whispers of "that makes sense" or "I never thought about it that way".

"Maybe we're not the type of characters that some were hoping that we'd be. But the truth is that we don't care anymore whether or not we're popular. We have no wish to be better than anyone. We _never_ wanted to be better than anybody. All we want is to have our names mentioned in the category and to go on doing what we do best…and that's to make as many humans happy the way that all the other classics did before. Whether it means you're a grooving emperor, a science geek, a treasure hunter, a bear, or a cow, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is what we think of ourselves…and how our movies can change someone's lives, big or small in ways we never imagined."

The crowd fell silent once more, unsure of what to say before Milo continued.

"We might not have pleased every human being in this world, but why should it matter if we pleased everybody or not. Each of our stories builds up on what this company has stood for since the beginning, whether your film is a success or a failure. That's what Mickey taught us. I guess what I'm saying is that we may not be perfect, we may not be the very best in the world, but we're proud to be who we are now. And nothing is going to take that feeling away from us...as long as there are people who still believe in the magic of Disney."

Pretty soon the tourists who weren't smiling before were already showing smiles of gratitude and appreciation. As for the Pixar characters, they were beginning to smile at them. The sound of one person's clapping broke the silence, soon followed by a growing number of clapping and applauding for Milo's wonderful speech. The rest of the Five gazed up at him, proud for what he mentioned, without overdoing it or putting anybody down. While everyone was still cheering, the Five decided to do a group hug together, listening as voices in the crowd begin to chant. Some whispered that the humor in The Emperor's New Groove almost made them die of laughter while Atlantis and Treasure Planet created an interest for them in exploration, scientific theories, and legends in treasure hunting all over the world. For Brother Bear, it made a couple of people want to learn more about the facts of Native American legends and cultures. And they adored the lovable bears. As for Home on the Range, one girl mentioned that if it wasn't for that movie existing, she would have never turned into a cow lover or sparked an interest in western activities. A couple more people mentioned that their young daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren couldn't resist admiring and having fun out of the songs and cute, colorful characters. They too almost died laughing. To them, the movies may not be instant classics, but they were just as good enough to bring smiles to their faces and forget all their troubles just like the other older Disney films of the past. In fact, the five movies were already classics to them in their own eyes. Other comments were so mixed together that they couldn't quite make them out, but it didn't matter.

"Did I do well?" Milo asked.

"I think you did fine," Jim answered reassuringly. "Me, I think I might have said the same thing up there…all of us I mean."

All of the Five agreed to this and continued with their group hug before taking a bow to the cheering crowd who clapped loudly than ever. No longer did the so-called Forgotten Five feel so left out, forgotten, or underappreciated as they did before. All their negative feelings were replaced with joy, gratitude, excitement, and happiness. It seemed that they were finally getting the respect they always dreamed of with this huge audience of happy tourists. Enticing aromas hung in the air and the sounds of music vibrated in their heads. Mickey walked back onstage, announcing that it was time to roll out the red carpet and let the characters walk on by to get ready for the Parade of Dreams. Walking down the stage, the Five strolled by receiving more gratitude, flowers given to them from tourists, or giving out hugs and kisses. One tourist girl handed Kuzco a red rose as she told him. "I love you because you don't have magic. In fact no one has magic, but the magic that is within all of us."

Kuzco hugged her back and thanked her happily, and then went on his way to keep following Mickey. One Hispanic girl gave each of the cows' lovable hugs, saying that they're the reason she turned vegetarian and grew more understandable of cows, farms, and western folklore. Nothing would change her opinion about them, no matter how old she would get. And to her, their movie was better than this other popular movie that she'd dare not say out loud, but only to them. The girls were struck by another unexpected surge of happiness as they took more flowers from tourists who honored their names. These people didn't hate them at all. The crowds were cheering for them. The Five were going to be in the parade with everyone else.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the Parade of Dreams had started first with a voice speaking out of the intercom to announce the introduction on the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, ending with Walt's recorded voice fifty years back: _For all who come to this happy place…welcome_.

First came the float of Gateway to Dreams, featuring characters like Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the Blue Fairy, Fairy Godmother, Merlin, and the Three Good Fairies. Seven more floats continued with Dream of Enchantment, Dream of Laughter, and Dream of another World, Dream of Imagination, Dream of Adventure, and Dreams Come True. But that wasn't the end of it as it was during its first opening in May. Because coming forward were five unexpected floats, or whatever tourists wanted to call them.

The entire cast from The Emperor's New Groove were the first to come marching by, waving at guests as Kuzco did his dance moves as the same opening song from the movie played during their performance. Colored confetti showered down upon them.

Next the song changed to _Where the Dream Takes You_ as the Atlantis crew drove slowly and carefully in their vehicles while waving at tourists who cheered for them. The Atlanteans floated in their stone fishes, as did Milo and Kida. They too were showered with colored confetti before the next stage turned to Treasure Planet.

The song _I'm Still Here_ played when the floating RLS _Legacy_ passed by with Jim Hawkins riding on his solar surfboard and his friends waving to the crowds below. Captain Amelia, Doppler, Morph, Silver, Sarah Hawkins, and B.E.N. were pretty much enjoying themselves for this day; especially B.E.N. who couldn't help himself from jumping with joy and catching the flowers thrown at the ship.

Next played the song _Welcome_, during the appearance of the entire cast from Brother Bear. The natives rode on mammoths, smiling and waving to people. Kenai and Koda rode up in front on the head of a mammoth. Rutt and Took marched down shouting hello and goodbye to the tourists, along with the other bears from the Salmon Run.

Last to come forward was the gang from Home on the Range with a few cowboys riding in Conestoga wagons. Lucky Jack rode on top of Junior, walking along next to Buck ridden by Sheriff Brown. Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway led the way in front of everyone since they were the stars of their movie, but not without the rest of their companions as they remembered. Nothing else was more important than family and friendship. The Patch of Heaven gang skipped and danced along proudly, listening to the song _Little Patch of Heaven_. The moment that the song came to an end, so did the parade. But the rest of the celebration was only just beginning.

The entire celebration continued all day and all through the night so that tourists and characters could see the fireworks show _Remember…Dreams Come True_. Everyone listened as Disney legend Julie Andrews narrated about the magic of Disneyland and how important the beauty of dreams really are. Everything throughout the event was spectacular, ending with a cavalcade of fireworks in the sky while Julie Andrews states. "Remember…dreams come true." The song _Remember When_ played after the show ended and tourists kept right on cheering for all the characters, but most of all, for the Five that saved this park. And once the tourists were leaving around midnight, the Five were later lifted high on the shoulders by the other Disney characters, parading around the park. The Pixar characters stayed behind to do the same for them. And all that night, the park echoed for joyous cheers. Not only did it turn out to be the Happiest Homecoming on Earth, but it was to be remembered as the happiest days of their lives.

* * *

Watching the entire situation from within her glowing orb, Maleficent scowled, disgusted that those forgotten fools were being noticed and honored, even after their failure. How could this be possible?

"Isn't it odd pet," she murmured darkly. "If me and the villains were on Eisner's side all along, we'd only be neglected as well as our own enemies. I should have known that sooner than expected."

She staggered back to her throne chair to have a seat. She sat for a moment to think carefully. Then a smirk crossed her face as she stared into the orb once again.

"Well those fools might have won this round," she cackled. "But Mickey still hasn't heard the last of me. This event may even be a greater opportunity to attack them again in the future."

Her laughter was then put to a halt, by the extinguishment of the green torches in the hallway. Furious, Maleficent stood up.

"Who dares to enter my domain?" she demanded.

Something had rustled in the shadowed corner. A spider-like creature popped out from the corner. Maleficent gasped at the furious frown of Scroop. "I do believe you promised us that we'd be known as the most powerful forces this world has ever known." His expression darkened. "So that's why we're all here."

In less than a second, the rest of the villains from the five movies, Yzma, Rourke, his henchmen, the space pirates, Alameda Slim, Rico, and the Willies stepped out. They too were not happy about their defeat and still wanted to be recognized as the villains this world has ever known like Maleficent promised. So that's what they were going to show her.

Nobody had known or seen what happened inside the dark castle. In fact no one was there to see it. The sounds were mixed with roars, weapons, screeching, howling, punching, and yodeling. This day and the next were about to be the most irritating, painful, vibrant days ever.

THE END

**AN**: _Nope, this story isn't quite the end just yet. There is one epilogue on the way so stay tuned. I have never been to the Happiest Homecoming on Earth before and I know the Five never had a chance to show themselves there or in any other parade...probably. Come on Disney! Show a little gratitude for once. I know what happened in this chapter isn't how it happened in the real world, but what else can I say other than me only wanting everyone to celebrate the Five's heroic deeds. I had to pick something. And I wanted to make sure the Pixar characters showing up for the celebration was good and decent enough, without making them look or sound like the enemy. I have nothing against Pixar; I still love watching their movies. The Five were just unsure and didn't know what to really think in the midst of the chapter. All Disney and Pixar characters do not belong to me; not even the real people like Michael Eisner, Roy E Disney, or Julie Andrews. I don't even own the songs that played during the Five's performance in the parade. But I listened to each of them as I was writing. This may have been a long chapter, but I hope it was a good conclusion to what was happening right now. Like I said before, the epilogue is on the way. I want to credit Yensid365 for helping me with the ideas and to PokeMaster93 for helping to give me the idea for the celebration. Thank you so much. And of course to TheStatue'sFollower for the tourist giving Kuzco a flower. Thanks for all the reviews for each chapter. I hope you enjoyed the story. I almost forgot to mention that the epilogue on the way will take four to five years after these events of how many changes arrive without telling too much._


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Months afterward, Roy E Disney had succeeded in gathering a large amount of shareholders to oust Eisner for good on September 30th, 2005. Never again would he neglect another character or send them away. It was another exciting day for the toons to finally be free of his arrogance and greed that nearly destroyed this company in the first place. On October 1st, Robert A. Iger replaced Michael Eisner as CEO who later began negotiations with leadership of Pixar Animation Studios. On November 3rd, Disney released their first CGI film _Chicken Little _later followed by the holiday release of_ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_. With the deal finalized, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter soon became President of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Other successful films to follow during the next four to five years later were _Meet the Robinsons_, _Dead Man's Chest,_ _At World's End_, _Enchanted_, _Prince Caspian_, and _Bolt_. Although both films were successful on their release, the transition to CGI failed to renew interest in Disney Animation; especially when a few of their features where routinely outperformed by Pixar flicks like _Cars_, _Ratatouille_, _Wall E_, and _Up_. But nevertheless, a few of Disney's films were successful enough to keep the crowds going.

Times sure had a way of bringing unexpected changes every now and then. Even with the surprising and growing number of several teen stars and singers taking the spotlight, it seemed that the public was no longer interested in classical animation anymore. The whole thing brought a great scare upon the toons, fearing for their fate until Robert Iger announced on March 10, 2009, the creation of D23, a program dubbed "The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience". Through all the hard times, the toons managed to stay together, as long as there were still fans who believed.

Then came the most amazing news ever to happen. The Walt Disney Company was preparing to revive 2D Animation with their newest upcoming film _The Princess and the Frog_. In a change of strategy, Lasseter re-opened Disney as a traditional animation house.

One evening during the month of November, the Disney characters gathered around the Animation Studio waiting. The doors soon opened to reveal the newest characters to welcome into the family. The outside characters cheered and shouted in joy to finally see the face of Tiana in her blue gown. Next to her stood Prince Naveen, pampered Charlotte, Big Daddy, and Tiana's parents. Following behind were Ray the glowing Cajun firefly, the trumpet playing alligator Louis, the scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier, Mama Odie, and several others.

"Hi everyone, nice to meet ya'll," Tiana smiled, waving as she passed by.

Charlotte wove her fancy fan around, smooching at the handsome characters...mostly at the princes, fluttering her eyes at them. The alligator, Louis put his trumpet to his lips and began to make sweet and lively music. The firefly Ray buzzed by with the sparkling trail of all his family following.

"My names Raymond, but you can call me Ray," the firefly said to the crowd. "I hope you're all excited to meet my family. And it's so nice to meet ya'll."

Mama Odie who wore sunglasses waddled by, listening to the shouts and cheers of the crowd. She used her pet snake Ju Ju as a walking cane. It wasn't too hard for her to tell where the rest of the cast was going. All she had to do was listen. Already the Disney characters were starting to adore the new members of the family.

It seemed everybody was happy…well not everybody exactly. At the farthest reaches from the animation studio, one four legged character was watching the whole welcoming, hidden up in the branches so that no one would notice her. In fact, she didn't want to show herself at all while coming all this way to see these new characters. For some odd reason, she just couldn't feel happy like everyone else acted here. Why couldn't she be like she was supposed to? What if she was wrong and selfish for feeling this way? If that was true, then she hated herself for it. Deep in her heart, a slight twist of loneliness, doubt, worry, and confusion mixed together so badly that she thought she would fall any minute, unable to take the guilt any longer. She waited and waited until the welcoming was over and all the characters had gone home so she could climb down and leave without any eyes watching her. With a troubled mind, the four legged character walked inside Frontier Land, all deserted and closed up. She didn't stop walking until she was at Tom Sawyer's Island, staring at her reflection in the river.

Lightening then streaked across the sky, startling her as the thunder roared. The confused character ignored the raindrops that soaked her blond coat and spilled down her face. Why couldn't she let it all go? She wanted to leave the hurtful memories behind, but some negative feeling wouldn't let her. She might act dumb sometimes, but she was not stupid. Staring long at her reflection down below, sometimes she felt that success was treated like a requirement for every single film. So why was she destined for failure in the first place? Was she always meant to be hated and ridiculed to begin with for being different? Would it make better sense if she and her friends never existed?

Slowly, the toon placed her hoof in the water, chilled by its cold touch and took it out frightfully. No, she couldn't do such a thing. How could she? If she even thought about stepping into that river for one moment, then she was out of her mind. Her friends at home would miss her terribly, her fans, even Mickey. But then again, being underrated still made her feel worthless and not special as other humans have always made her feel. Those coworkers from five years back acted like they never cared about her and her friends. So why shouldn't everyone else care what happens to her? How can she even show her stupid face to the new members and tell them that she was nothing but a joke and a failure? After everything she and her companions did to help save this company from evil, other humans still treated her like she was nothing. Why was that so? Why were critics so cruel and snotty? She didn't understand. How could she take living here when this place was so full of painful memories that she couldn't get rid of? Somewhere deep within her mind, a dark voice was telling her that if she ever wanted the hurt to disappear forever, she would have to step into that river and disappear.

Spellbound, she couldn't fight against it. Maybe she could end it all now this moment and no one would ever find her. But something else stopped her from stepping any further into that water. The water was up to her neck by then when a thought struck her. Now she was definitely crazy for what she was about to do. Panicking, she turned around and swam back to the surface, shaking the water off of her. She knew this was wrong, but she just couldn't stand being forgotten, especially by almost everyone. Why did it hurt so much? Unable to handle all the questions messing with her mind, she realized that the only way to solve this problem was to maybe talk about it with Mickey, if he wasn't too busy with anything. She'd hate to interrupt his work time, but she had to talk with someone sooner or later if she wanted her problems to go away. He would understand her, he had to. Mickey did say she could always turn to him when needed.

* * *

Later the next day, Mickey sat in his office doing some paperwork, whistling a happy tune. He had been doing this all morning, but would be finished at any minute with only three more papers to go. It might have been tiring, boring work, but someone had to do it. While finishing up the last three, he thought about last night's greeting with the newest cast members from _The Princess and the Frog_, thinking about how wonderful it was to have 2D Animation back since it has always been a part of their history. CGI wasn't so bad, but for some reason audiences were not too satisfied with the tone. But whatever the reason, Mickey and his pals were still determined to keep this company on track. It was their duty. A knock on the door sounded just after he had finished with the final paper.

"Come in," said Mickey.

The office door creaked open slowly with Grace the cow poking her head in. She entered carefully before closing the door softly with her tail. Knowing that there was no point in hiding her sad face from Mickey, she humbly asked if she could sit down anywhere. But since Grace was unable to sit on the chair due to her heavy weight, Mickey led her over the soft, comfortable lavender sofa where she laid down like a patient in a psychiatrist's office.

"I gotta admit, I could use company myself at this hour," Mickey admitted. Noticing her downhearted face, he asked. "What's wrong, did something happen today?"

"No," Grace answered, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"Was it yesterday?" he inquired, now worried.

"S…sort of," her voice cracked, giving away her state of emotion.

"Then tell me what it is," Mickey said gently, pulling a chair up for him to have a seat. "Remember what I said? You can always come to me if you're feeling down on yourself. Besides, it's never good for anyone to keep their emotions bottled up inside."

Grace swallowed, feeling a painful lump in her throat when she didn't know exactly how to begin. This was it, she couldn't back out now. It was too late to walk out the door. Her lip quivering, the room grew blurry with tears forming in her eyes. The pain inside was so overwhelming, that she just broke out crying onto one of the pillows. Touched by her sadness, Mickey asked her what was wrong again, but she went on sobbing. But after two minutes of allowing her to let it all out, she answered.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know if I can take any more of this," Grace sobbed. "Everything here is such a memory that…that I can't let it go. I try, but it only comes back. I don't know how else to say this but…sometimes I feel like jumping off a high building or vanishing into the midst of the ocean. Why, what else can I mention other than I can't stand the thought of being used only to be forgotten and rejected by everyone in the end." She sniffled, her face tearstained and her eyes a bright pink color.

"What, that last part isn't true and you know it," Mickey said. "If this is about how Michael treated you, don't you think for one minute that you and your friends caused this company's downfall in the first place. It was Michael who did it, not you."

"Humph, try telling that to the humans," Grace said coldly. "You know them; always expecting everything to be a most splendid masterpiece. They don't care how hard you worked or how much you sacrificed. All that matters to them is success and glory. I don't mean to sound selfish or anything, but sometimes I wish we would have been more popular if it wasn't for Michael ruining our one and only chance. Maybe things would have been…different. But look how we ended up now." Her eyes shut tight as more tears spilled down her face. "I hate him so much!"

Grace felt so mad at herself for this kind of behavior that she was even more overcome by uncontrollable waves of tears. How could she ever show her face in public again? She knew that she shouldn't blame herself for what happened five years ago, but for some reason Grace couldn't help but feel partly responsible for it. Mickey had attempted as best as he could to comfort her and telling her that it was never her fault. He patted her shoulder as she sobbed into the pillow, soaking it with her tears. That was a rather expensive pillow, but Mickey didn't care. Grace was in worse shape than the pillow was. It always pained him when someone in his family was this downhearted on themselves. He would have thought that after that celebration back in the summer of 2005, the Five would have already changed their views and opinions about the public. But that didn't mean they would never feel anger or sadness again from their troubled past. Whatever else was bothering Grace, he would help her in any way he can. Then an idea came to his head.

"I know of someone who went through the exact same thing you did," he said gently. "She and her pals had it just as hard as you girls did. Would you mind waiting in here while I go fetch her? It won't take long, I promise."

"I don't mind," Grace answered without protest.

Mickey went out the door, leaving Grace alone to wait. Grace didn't mind the wait though. During this time, she felt cried out, having no more tears left. She never meant to come here and give Mickey a hard time with her troubled feelings, but she just didn't know who else to talk to. There was the Blue Fairy perhaps, but her star could only be seen on clear nights. It had been rather cloudy and rainy for several days. And all the other Disney characters acted too excited about the news of the rebirth of 2D Animation with the new cast members. In some ways, she didn't want to spoil any of their fun and excitement by bothering them. After all, that Tiana gal seemed like a kindhearted and well developed princess character as Grace predicted. She seemed lucky enough to be loved and adored by perhaps by more than a million Disney fans in the world as all the other princesses. But what if the staff at the studios already mentioned about the failure of the last 2D movie to the new members? Then what would Tiana think of her? Grace lay still on the couch in silent thought, wondering at this moment what might await her outside at the studio if she should ever think about showing up there again.

Just then she heard soft footsteps outside the hallway and the turning of the knob. Mickey was back after ten minutes of waiting in here patiently. She turned her head to the door opening slowly and in walked Mickey Mouse with Alice, the girl who fell down a rabbit hole to Wonderland. Grace was a little surprised to see one of Walt Disney's creations in here, thinking that all of the cartoons from the earlier era were loved more and admired than the cartoons of today.

"Sorry to have interrupted your tea party Alice," Mickey apologized. "I hope it doesn't interfere with your busy schedule today."

"Certainly not Mickey," Alice reassured. "It was over by the time you arrived. The next one won't be for another two hours. I've got time."

Mickey nodded, looking at his watch, he slapped his cheek. "Uh-oh, I just forgot that I have five minutes to deliver this paperwork. Think you could stay here and talk with her while I'm out?"

Alice said yes, watching him hastily grab the paperwork and rush out of the office. Sometimes Mickey had a way of forgetting a few things, but he never lost sight of the most important things. Alice took a seat on the chair next to Grace. It was her turn to talk to the sweet bovine.

"Grace, Mickey tells me you've been having a lot on your mind recently," said the English girl. "Is that true?"

Grace could only nod.

"I suppose you heard of me before as one of Walt's creations haven't you?"

"Yeah, I heard of you," Grace answered softly, cracking a small smile. "I loved your movie too. I always wanted to visit Wonderland someday. But Alice is it true what Mickey said about your past? I thought you were popular?"

Alice sighed, knowing what she was about to explain. This wouldn't be easy for her to explain. "Well…I am known as one of the finest works in Disney History today. But it didn't start out that way more than fifty years ago. Because as far as I can remember, humans have hated me. And for some reason they had accused Disney of Americanizing a great work of English literature. All my film received was hostile, impolite reviews saying I had no heart. All we gained was lukewarm enthusiasm at that time." Then Alice frowned, crossing her arms. "But not even Walt himself could be pleased with my performance. You know what he did? He blamed the whole thing on me alone. It's hard to say other than I was no Snow White or Cinderella. I was different, but never ashamed of being myself."

Grace looked up at Alice, a little shocked that a genius like Walt from long ago could ever think that way of someone like her. Alice continued on with her story.

"What's worse, he apologized for my movie."

"That's awful, why would he do that?" Grace asked.

"It had a little something to do with my character as all the inhabitants in Wonderland," Alice replied. "We would hear things such as no heart, no feeling, or whatever Walt expected out of us. But most of it had something to do with the fact that our movie lacked the imagination of Lewis Carroll."

"But I think it's wonderful."

"And I'm glad of that," Alice smiled. "For the both of us, it's nice to hear a praise of gratitude from more than one person. But not everyone hated me that's for sure. And you know such critics. I see them as nothing but a pack of cards...even to this day. But I suppose you can't be everybody's cup of tea now."

The two characters agreed on their own ideas of movie critics in today's generation. Grace listened as Alice then went on to explain how she got angry with Walt after that apology, yelling at him and saying that she would never speak to him or have anything to do with him ever again. She and all the creatures of Wonderland thought there was no use pleasing him in any way; other personal details she left out, not wanting to go overboard in case she might accidentally offend Grace. Alice had never felt so angry, hurt and disappointed in her life around that time. Ever since then, she ended up not talking to Walt for a long period of time. She and the others remained in Wonderland, refusing to attend parties and celebrations; except for their one and only appearance during Disneyland's first opening in 1955 where she was asked to introduce the tea party ride before going back into Wonderland. It wasn't until sometime in the 60s when humans asked that Walt bring her film out for a reintroduction which he agreed to. Although Alice and her friends were unsure of this, she decided this once that she would give society another chance. Just when Alice thought nobody would ever accept her, she later found out how wrong she was when the humans started to adore the inhabitants of Wonderland, despite the rudeness and craziness. When Walt later grew ill with cancer, she soon learned the reason behind his apology for the film, not wanting anyone to know of his real love for Alice, only wanting those critical attacks off the company's back with such ridiculous accusations. He only said it because he thought it was what those people wanted him to say. In truth, Walt had been aiming more for family audiences than critics as he did with every one of his films. If Alice wouldn't talk to him, he would ask Mickey to do it several times to try cheering her up in some ways. All this time Walt really cared for her and she was too busy being angry and upset to give him a chance at explaining. Even before his death, she made amends with him at the hospital saying how sorry she was for what she said to him years back. Walt mentioned that he had already forgiven her, even when she refused to speak with him. Now he asked that she forgive him. That she did, attending Walt's funeral with the other Disney characters, Walt's family and friends. It was a sad day for everyone, but mostly for Mickey Mouse who had always viewed Walt as a father figure. It pained Alice as much as it pained all the characters to see him so heartbroken like that, making her feel responsible for this. Like all other humans, he too had made mistakes in his life with a lot of things besides what had gone on with his relationship with his toon family. So often Alice would question herself (even to this day) on why she gave herself very good advice, but very seldom followed it.

Grace noticed tears welling up in Alice's eyes when she thought about the times she never spoke to Walt and still regretted it. Yet she understood that his death was not her fault, only wishing that he were here now so she could express herself to him better than she did before. A little stunned by what she saw, Grace used her tail to softly rub Alice's left hand, knowing it was all she could think of.

"I'm sorry," Alice sniffled softly, rubbing her eyes. "Well I guess what I'm saying is whatever happens to this place; don't make the same mistakes I made. Never isolate yourself from society like I did and _never_ give up on life. I don't know everything in this world of logic and nonsense, but I do know that Mickey loves us both for who we are and not for our popularity. Even if one of us became worried over new members arriving, none of them will ever take our place in his heart or in the gallery. I've been here for more than fifty years now and still Mickey has not forgotten me." Alice gently touched Grace on the cheek with her left hand. "I know I'm not perfect in every way…and I'm known to be prissy at times, but Mickey once taught me that all the good I've accomplished opened doors to humans out there. Every little bit helps to make a difference in this world. I have faults, you have faults. We all do at the Magic Kingdom. But we must never let our own faults stop us from being the best we can be. That's what's more important. All I can be is myself."

Grace stared thoughtfully at Alice's black shoes down on the floor for a moment. Then she found that she had more tears left after all when she thought back to the memories of tourists praising them, admiring them, and respecting their background. Her movie and Alice's really had opened doors to humans out there. Whether the crowds were in large or minimum numbers, it was still enough to make a difference. A small smile crossed her face when she also thought back to when she and the rest of the Five went into hiding soon after their failure, but never realized how much they were only hurting themselves and others by doing that, holding a grudge against the world plus Michael. She didn't even want to think anymore what would have happened if they left on the boat to the Island of Forgotten Dreams.

"Now…is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Alice inquired.

Grace suddenly turned her attention back to Alice, unable to stop the tears from dripping down her face. Then she lifted herself up off the sofa and in her own way of hugging, she rested her head on Alice's lap and cried some more. Although she was not much good with comforting, Alice held her close, rubbing her neck and back.

"Oh Alice," Grace began softly. "It's just…me and my friends…have been going through a hard time with all these changes. It made me scared. I mean...I never meant to hurt anyone. But I feel no one understands us after all we've been through. Why is that?" A few more tears slipped down, but that was all.

"I don't know," Alice responded, unsure of how to answer that question. "But don't you go on believing whatever rude word is thrown at you. You are who you want to be. The same words Mickey taught me about myself. Everyone is different. That's what makes us special. And as for the changes happening, there will always be good times and bad times. But as long as we're together and help one another in a time of great need, nothing will tear us apart. I know things were hard for both of us at the beginning, but we must move on instead of dwelling too much on the past and what could have been. You have us now...and Mickey too."

It felt good for Alice to try her best at comforting someone who wasn't acting impolite to her, but only needed someone to talk to and help her heal those wounds from inside. The young English girl never forgot how it felt like to be hated, underrated, and ignored. And when Alice recalled the memory of how Grace almost lost her life five years ago, she pictured herself in that position as a broken body with a broken spirit, no love or kindness from anyone. She was glad to use the same words that Mickey gave her when she was still on earth for no more than her first ten years. While still comforting, Alice let Grace know that she was truly a good character with a good heart as well as all the other characters in the park. Mickey will never forget her and never stop loving her. And no new character would ever take her place in his heart. Not even in the Magic Kingdom. It was everyone's responsibility to treat each other with kindness and respect. When Grace had questioned why Mickey planned all that celebrating for her and the rest of the Forgotten Five, Alice said that Mickey told her himself that the Five were his family, no different than any other successful film. Whether their stories were big, important, or simple, they were all built up on what the company stands for. He didn't only love the Five just because he felt sorry for them, but that he believed no family should be left behind or forgotten, not even her or Alice.

Feeling a little better, Grace sniffled one last time and let Alice wipe away her tears with her fingertips. Even though nobody could promise that no one would ever criticize her and her friends again, Grace would always remember that she already had friends, fans, and a family to turn to anytime she needed a friend. Some people in this world were cruel, true. But the only way to make it stop was to stand up for yourself and others by not giving in to the harsh criticism and never letting it bring you down in life. All Grace had to do was believe in herself and be the best she can be. To think that a character like Alice rumored to have "no heart" would be here right now speaking words of kindness to her. Then again, she was glad to have this all talked out and thanked Alice for everything. Even if the Forgotten Five had succeeded in getting revenge on Michael Eisner, they'd be no better than Maleficent. All the underrated characters at the Magic Kingdom had ended up doing things that the other successful characters couldn't do. Then the two heard the door opening as Mickey returned from delivering the paperwork.

"I see you're feeling better now ain't yah," Mickey smiled.

Grace nodded. "Never felt better Mickey. But I still hope this visit hasn't caused any delays."

"Nope, everything is just perfect. As a matter of fact, I was just on my way over to the Animation Studio to welcome the cast from _The Princess and the Frog_. Would you two like to come?"

"Oh I'd love to Mickey," Alice beamed, sitting up from the chair.

"Count me in," Grace agreed without protest. "How would I know what new folks think of me if I don't introduce myself to them? So lead the way."

And so the Disney characters started their walk to the studio, meeting and welcoming the new characters with friendly greetings. None of them thought badly of Alice or Grace, returning the same friendly hello. For Grace, it felt splendid to spend the day getting to know Tiana, Naveen, Ray, Louis, and all the rest, even by listening to the lyrics in Mama Odie's song teaching how what you need is more important on what you want. It made Grace understand that she already had what she needed here at the Magic Kingdom and from fans who loved her movie. She didn't need to be all the way at the top to be big and important after all, as long she and her friends were making others happy. She couldn't wait to fetch her friends from Patch of Heaven later tonight and bring them down here. Why, because a new and exciting day was about to get on December 11th. And once it did, the Magic Kingdom couldn't have been more magical, especially around the holidays. The Patch of Heaven Gang soon became friends with the characters from _Alice in Wonderland_. To Grace, Alice acted a little like Mrs. Calloway due to her personality, but she was still a sweet kind hearted girl, not caring what her other faults are. From that time on, the Forgotten Five didn't care anymore what other people thought about them. Mickey loved them, all the Disney characters loved them, even their fans loved them and that was more than they'll ever need. They would always be ready to turn to Mickey and his buddies the next time a new chairman ever neglected them.

**The End**

**AN**: _Well that's the end of the Forgotten Five. I hope you all enjoyed the story and thanks for the reviews. As for the epilogue, the reason it took a little long to update was because I was a little stuck on three choices deciding on what's the best idea for the epilogue. And as for Alice's appearance, I wanted to use someone from the Walt Disney era who has been around longer than the Forgotten Five. I've been doing some research on Alice in Wonderland as I was writing this chapter. According to that apology statement, it was something I learned from a review page on years back and couldn't believe it. But then again, I don't truly know how Walt really feels about Alice in the end since I couldn't find anything so I had to write something. And I always believed that HOTR fell in the same bad situation as Alice in Wonderland did. That's why I put her in here. Plus I think the characters from both movies are charming and spirited. Take that movie critics! Anyways, this story was not written to make readers like the Forgotten Five mentioned, but to maybe show that they had a different purpose for existing but not failure. I doubt that Mickey would have the heart to treat the Forgotten Five the same way society did...that I'll never truly understand, but I guess it doesn't matter anyways. It's not that I don't respect people's opinions about things, but I don't like the way they say it sometimes in a rude, arrogant, know-it-all manner. And as for Grace being worried at the beginning, it's kind of like when a family member becomes worried over a new sibling and will take time getting used to them. She fears being left back in the dark all forgotten. Her feelings represent how it feels when a human begins to feel worthless and thinking that maybe life is better off without them, when in reality they are unaware of how important their lives are and how huge a difference life would be without them. I must credit Yensid365 for helping out a bit with this epilogue last year. If anyone was ever interested in making their own version of a Disney Universe story, they can as long as they don't copy this story. So they're not allowed to do that. I hope Alice's story made enough sense, even though I don't know the whole background story of what happened, only what I read in articles in stuff. Thanks for all the reviews. They're what kept me going all this time to finish the story. Also I have been listening to "Anytime You Need a Friend" while writing the last few paragraphs. I forgot to mention that I don't own any of the Disney or Pixar characters mentioned in this story._


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